Reunions & Engagements [Tag: Axerim]

Kaeul sat quietly at the table. There was no one else awake just yet, but she hadn't slept after her eventful night. Altair was eating what remained of his herdbeast meat while she tried to force down fruit and oatmeal. Instead of actually eating much, she kept lifting and dropping the spoon with food still on it. Heaving a sigh she decided she wasn't going to get much of a good breakfast either. When it was finally light enough outside to see, she went back to her rooms and changed into work clothes. The heavy leather front of the pants and the demin-like fabric behind it were not the most comfortable things she had to wear, but the leather would protect her from the hooves of the runners, as well as much of the mud. Comfortable boots followed as well as a quarter sleeve shirt and her Beastcrafter vest on top of it. Kae's hair was pulled back into a messy bun at the back of her head and Altair was at her side in moments, recognizing that his mistress was getting ready to go out.

After checking her supply bag, she wrote a quick note telling her family she had begun her rounds early and left it beside her breakfast bowl. Kaeul heaved the bag over her shoulder, clipped the lead to Altair and left. The first of those on her list was not far from her home and it was quick work to get there. Since they had all made appointments to have her see their animals, she didn’t bother waking them so early in the day. The stablehands were awake, and she walked up to one, requesting that they bring out the runners who needed to be seen. Sometime later, after the runners had been fed and lined up in a pasture, Kaeul began her work on the first. Running her hands over the creatures she found nothing of significance other than a stone bruise or two, some sore muscles and teeth that needed floating. Once she had taken care of them, she took her payment from their owner and was on her way to the next on her list.

Altair spent his time sniffing each of the animals and panting at her until she shoo'd him away to explore the property. Kaeul watched him for a moment as he wandered around urinating on everything and marking his new 'territory'. This time, the hour was much more reasonable. People were awake, animals were fed and she was more than welcome, as she was told, to visit with whomever she liked. With a small smile, she turned away, but not without first noticing that this was the family of an eligible bachelor who was watching her with interest. She dipped a small curtsy and left quickly. She didn't want to speak to them.

It was much the same as the last stable, with mostly sore or pulled muscles. She checked their teeth and confirmed pregnancy for a couple of potential runners for the races. As she was preparing to leave, the man who owned the runners at this stable came and requested her assistance with inseminating one of his other mares. Her face flushed at that, as she remembered her own activities from the night before. It was simple enough, and she did her duty without much other thought and the man paid her.

Checking her marks bag she was up to about fifty. It was almost enough, she thought, for her to purchase her own runner for the traveling of the Caravan. And not some nag that was better served carrying storage. The idea of purchasing a good runner put a smile on her face that was more genuine than she one she had given the man's son. If the rest of the day went well, she mused, she would be able to find herself a runner before the end of the sevenday.

Deciding that it was more than ready for lunch, she whistled for Altair and headed to the Lord Holder's residence to join them for an afternoon meal before finishing her rounds.

Jungi had been out late like his sister, also enjoying the company of the opposite sex -but not in the way most would imagine. Having let himself sleep in that morning, so she'd already departed to attend to her daily work routine by the time he had arisen. Of course, he'd assumed that everything was as normal when he'd come back home in the wee hours of the morning, and that everything was the same when he woke to find most of his family already up and about, Kaeul already on her way. Perhaps a little disappointed that he didn't get to see her off in the morning like he sometimes did, he figured that he'd have to catch up with her later. 

Later that day, not knowing that she too, had plans on skipping over to the hold for lunch, Jungi had decided to do the same. Marching in through a drudge entrance that led from a garden into the kitchens, he ducked his head as he went through the door, avoiding the swats as he reached to steal a snack.

"Scoundrel! To think our Lord lets mutts like you in off the street? Git out!" The words were teasing. The cooks and drudges there knew who Jungi and his family were, and they recognized the close friendship they had with the Holding family. Rihan let Jungi and his family make themselves at home there; but that didn't mean they didn't catch some playful flack from the servants. 

Withdrawing his hand just in time to save it from the head cook's swat, Jungi was grinning, quickening his step to skip just out of her reach.

"Alibina, is the Master at home? I'm here to visit him, not just steal the food."

Unexpectedly sweeping up behind the middle-aged woman, Jungi's hands went to her waist. A roguish grin played there on his expression as he leaned over her shoulder to speak low into her ear in a steamy tone, "I would come here just for you, if you asked me to."

Completely disarmed by the honest and suggestive way in which Jungi whispered to her, it would have been difficult for many women to avoid blushing, all in a fluster. The cook could feel her knees weaken and it did little to admonish herself for letting herself act in such a silly way in front of a man many turns younger than she. But his voice held a sweet promise.

That was, until Jungi added, "As long as there is food on the table, my dear. You know that's what I love most about Hold life."

Withdrawing from Alibina, he was glad to have the effect on her that he did, knowing that he could get her back for teasing him like she did.

As he popped the little treat he'd stolen into his mouth, he waited for her answer, meandering toward the door that would lead him out into the Main Hall.

Quickly composing herself, Alibina brushed off the encounter to turn a knowing glower on him. The playboy knew exactly what he was doing; and that was toying with her! But all to be expected, and accepted in most affectionate terms between the two of them. Jungi was affable and easy to tease. That actually did a lot in the winter months to keep the spirits up in the House. The Trader, with his good humour and friendly way, was always the light that they needed to brighten the day. 

Not to mention, all of the girls working inside the Hold loved him. He was coy with them all, teasing them relentlessly until every one of them thought they had a chance with him. And somehow, few of them tired of his games. Maybe it was because he seemed so honest.

While he was still chewing and unable to make any retort, Alibina answered him, "He's in the Amber Room. That's where he likes to take his business -and his mid-day meal- now-a-days, since the weather's getting too cold to eat on the veranda. Though I've reminded him that we have a hearth we can burn outside if he wants to have a table set up beside it. There's no reason not to enjoy the out of doors just because it's getting chilly. There's heat running under the flagstones there, too, as you know, so it's not like he should be getting cold. But," The woman lowered her voice, "I think he thinks of the Lady Eolyn and her condition, not wanting to chance he getting some ailment. Everyone knows she's already struggling..."

Letting her words trail off, she didn't want to say more than necessary, though she suspected that the Trader naturally knew more than necessary anyway. So, with that, she shooed him away. 

"Alright, go see the young Lord and get out of my hair. I'll have your meal brought out when it's ready. Lord Rihan has another visitor already, so you know." But honestly she didn't know if it was on any business that should keep Jungi away or not. She doubted it.

Spinning back toward the door, Jungi waved over his shoulder as a token of his appreciation for the information. Not that he wouldn't have gotten it out of her one way or the other.

"Alright. I'll tell him that you warned me."

When he'd gone from the kitchens, heading across the great hall toward the back of the first level where the Amber Room was, Jungi paused outside the door to see if he could be admitted. The guard there did not stop him and the door was not closed, so Rihan must still be taking visitors; though Alibina was right, he heard voices from inside. Rihan was already with someone.






Though the soils used for the making of finer ceramics such as the ones he'd brought with him today were clean, Axerim still washed his hands thoroughly of the clay that inevitably worked its way under his fingernails, thinking it only appropriate to be free of the 'grime' of daily labors while visiting his cousin. Because, although Rihan was his cousin, he was also a Lord Holder, and deserving of proper respects.

Axerim had already situated the chinaware he'd prepared out on the table in full display as a table setting. He wanted for his cousin to be able to see exactly how it would look, and be able to approach each individual piece for inspection. If there was any imperfection on any piece, he'd make sure to have it remade. And if Rihan did not take a preference to any of it, the design or the shape or color, etc, then all of it would be destroyed and he would start over. Sometimes that's just what it took to have his art approved. 

Knowing that his pieces would be used in the Hold Proper one day however, made it all worth it.
 
Standing quietly near where Rihan slowly walked the length of the meeting table at the center of the room filled with golden radiance. Taking up a dish at a time, he scrutinized each one in his own way.

"The color and texture are well suited to the season. The natural edge lends an earthy appeal but does not take away from a most elegant design. And the color is soft but not understated, yet I don't think it will detract from the food presentation."

After hearing the words of praise, Axerim allowed himself to smile briefly, bowing at the waist in slight. Any such complement from the Holder would be accepted in highest regard to his ability, so he could not take Rihan's words lightly. Rihan was no lame judge of artistic work, even if he sometimes had his own particular tastes. Fortunately, Axerim was coming to know his tastes more specifically.

As usual, the Hold was a bustle of activity. Kaeul and Altair dodged people left and right as they hurried about their business. Lunch or not, the young woman decided it was probably best to freshen up before meeting everyone to eat and so she made a pit stop at the privy. After washing her face, hands and neck of grime from work, making sure that she didn't leave crusted mud beneath her nails, Kae took a look at her hair and plucked some of the hay from that as well.

She spotted her brother as she left the privy, a self-satisfied smirk seemed to play on his face and she had the feeling he had been flirting with one of the Hold girls again. Shaking her head she snuck quietly as she followed Jungi, waiting for the moment when she could pop out and surprise him. Kae had actually missed him that morning, they were usually very close. Briefly she entertained the thought of telling her brother what she had done, but she wasn't sure if he would tell her father so she decided against it. After a moment it appeared as though he was headed toward the Amber Room. She saw him walk there and peeked around the corner. When the Guard didn't stop him she made the assumption that Rihan must be accepting guests but she grinned conspiratorially at the Guard and hid behind one as she looked into the room.

Kaeul heard the Lord's voice as he complemented some work, and she looked around to see what he was talking about. On the table seemed to be some ceramic work, but that wasn't what caught her eye. She recognized the man bowing to the Lord Holder and her hands clapped over her mouth to muffle the gasp that escaped her. It was a slight bow, but she was whirling away from the room in shock before Ax could spot her. Altair, the irritating dog that he was, had wandered into the room and toward Ax without preamble. While the flaming dog sniffed at Ax's hand, Kae hoped the Lord Holder had been too busy with his new tableware to notice her. Instead of surprising her brother she took off blindly with a whistle to the dog and Altair ran to her side, abandoning his new friend in the Amber Room.

The young woman wasn't sure where she was going, but when she slowed to look around she was in an unfamiliar passage way. It was dimly lit and seemed to be sparsely used, but she followed it anyway. Natural curiosity led her to see where it ended, despite her confused mind. Kae had not expected to see the man she had made love to the night before so immediately soon after.

Eventually the passage way came to a door which she opened. There was a set of rooms behind it and she wondered if she should enter it or not. The thought went out the door when her hand seemed to act of its own accord and the door was swinging open in front of her. Wandering in, she kept Altair out and made him guard the door behind her as she closed it. Her hand trailed along a nice wardrobe, as her eyes scanned the room for clues to whose it might be. Kaeul had to smile at the mostly tidy room but her eyes fell on a familiar shirt laying at the bottom of the bed. The woman's breath caught in her chest as she reached a hand out and noticed it was shaking just a bit. Picking it up she looked at it again to make sure, but the identity of the room's owner became clear when she saw the dried clay.

Kaeul sat down heavily on the side of the bed still holding the shirt. Why did Ax have rooms at the Hold? Was he a Lord Holder of some sort? A relation? A well-paid artist for Rihan? A good friend? Some combination of those things? It didn't matter to her, but she noticed that the bed was rumbled where she sat, looking as though someone had slept there. Lifting the shirt to her nose she smelled the scent of Ax again and her eyes closed as she smiled. Her sleepless night and the stress of the morning and her hard work with the runners of the settlement crashed down around her in one moment and before she knew it, she had curled up on Ax's bed, cradling his shirt and had fallen quickly to sleep with a small smile on her face.

Worried for his mistress, Altair pushed his nose into the door and went into the room. Seeing her asleep on the bed, he curled up on the floor beside it, joining her in an afternoon nap. The door swung shut completely on well-oiled hinges and the pair were closed in the room without anyone knowing their whereabouts.

Jungi didn't realize he was being followed by his little scamp of a sister until after he noticed Altair waltzing into the room, bypassing him to make his way over to the smithcrafter at the opposite side of the table. By the time he or Axerim either one had had there wherewithal to look back toward the door, she was already gone. Rihan had noticed her just earlier, since he was facing that way, but hadn't spoken a word, most of his attention having been on the ceramics in hand. 

Backpedaling through the door, Jungi tried to peer after wherever his sister had run off to, but she'd already disappeared around another corner.

Thinking it a little odd that she took off all of a sudden without saying hello, Jungi paused to consider what made her run off like that. Given his sister's free attitude however, it could have been anything. 

Thinking nothing more of it, Jungi bowed his head finally in greeting to Rihan, grinning as he approached the table setting to appraise the new ceramics for himself.

"H-hey. These aren't half bad at all. They'd fetch me a good price at a gather so," Gazing Axerim's way, the Trader suggested, "if Rihan and his Lady don't approve, you can come find me and I'll take this whole set off your hands." 

Rihan's mouth drew into a smirk, his eyes letting Jungi know that he happened to like the set very much, and he'd be hard pressed to pry them from a holder's hands. In any case, they were made for the Hold specifically and Eolyn had yet to see them. Hopefully she'd be around soon to do so. He was sure that the earthy, masculine touch tied together so well with a warm color, elegant design and sporadic feminine flourishes carved delicately into the edges of the plate and then painted with a brighter glaze would be just perfect in her eyes. It was certainly a change from the usual. Their previous Hold ceramist had been hidebound and stuck in the tradition of only presenting a certain kind of chinaware to his Lord, which he personally thought more appropriate. But the distinctive change in artistic tastes between the two smithcrafters was like a breath of fresh air to Rihan. Something to be appreciated.

The Lord Holder smiled after that, setting the bowl in his hand back down on the table. "Perhaps Eolyn would decide for us. She has yet to look at them, herself. She or the Headwoman."

Turning back to his cousin, Rihan let Axerim know that that was all of the business he had with him for the day, so if he needed to return to his work, he could. 

Bowing out of the conversation, Axerim ended up heading toward the door, equally as curious as Jungi about his sister's whereabouts. She must have seen him and gotten shy all of a sudden? That's the only reason he could think of that she would of come and then gone without announcing herself. No one else knew that the two of them had a relationship yet.

"I'll look forward to hearing what Lady Eolyn thinks of the set, then. If you could let me know as soon as possible, if they don't meet all of your expectations, I'll get to work on a new set right away. That way they'll be ready for the Formal dinner coming up in a few weeks."

All in agreement, Axerim departed from the Amber Room, moving out into the Main Hall. Stopping a couple of guards and drudges, he inquired after if anyone had seen exactly where Kaeul had gone off to, but in their bustle, none had paid much attention to her coming and going.

Some great help they are, he thought. Figuring that Kaeul was already far from here, at this point, and unsure of which direction to search for her in, he decided to go back to his workshop and finish up a couple of tasks there before calling it an early day and heading home.



Axerim spent the next candlemark or two at his workshop, getting a project wrapped up and some tasks delegated to some of the other workers to keep them busy while he was gone. Once things were in order there, he made his way from smithcrafter's quarter, heading to his apartment.

Few people knew that the complex that he lived in was connected with the Hold proper, but only his particular apartment actually had a hidden entrance through the bed chamber to the interior of the hold. His apartment was composed of four rooms: a bedroom, bathing room with a heated tub, large living quarters, at least one wall of which was lined with shelves for a collection of books, and a kitchenette. 

In the past, the apartment had generally been left unoccupied unless by an officer of the Guard. The entire purpose for the connection to the outside was as an escape in case of emergency, so it was impossible to have the rooms occupied by someone unaware of its true purpose. At times, other apartments in the same complex housed other workers who did some sort of work about the hold, but not even they were aware of the hidden entrance/ exit there. 


Once he'd arrived home, Axerim entered the small foyer where his general practice was to remove his boots so as to preserve cleanliness within the place. Sitting on the step there to do so, it he'd barely gotten them unlaced before a noise from the back of the apartment reached his ears. It was a faint sound, and one he couldn't quite place, but it soon it had paused.

On the alert, thinking that someone must have broken in and then become trapped in the bedroom when he arrived home early, Axerim reached for the dagger at his hip. In a reverse grip, he drew the blade as gradually as he came to stand at his full height again. Creeping up the step, he moved quietly across the short breadth of distance it took to flatten his back against a wall where he could hide himself from view and jump out at the intruder if necessary. 

Just as he reached his place of hiding, the sound of the bedroom door creaking open on its hinges became audible. His heart raced as he honed his ears on whatever sounds came after, relying on that to tell him about the movement of the intruder. The ensuing sound of footsteps however, was not the kind he expected to hear. Peering around the corner over a shoulder, the smithcrafter had to furrow his brow in consternation when Altair appeared. The footfalls had been that of an animal.

The dog immediately came to greet him, nudging him with a little lick as Axerim dropped his hand to the dog's head. 

Altair didn't seem at all alarmed about anything, though he began to skirt about his feet anxiously (having to pee) and so Axerim assumed that everything was alright. At least as far as his intruder problem. But, how had Kaeul found this place?

Altair's glassy eyes peered between him and the front door, the dog letting out a grumble, but before Axerim would let him outside, he wanted to double check one thing. He needed to see for himself that it was Kaeul in the bedroom, and that she was safe.

Still with knife in palm at the ready, Axerim went to the bedroom as soundlessly as he could, peeking through the door. Though the room was only dimly lit at this time of day, it was difficult to make out much until his eyes adjusted, but he could tell that it was Kaeul asleep on his bed. With his shirt clutched against her as though it were him.

Immediately letting his guard down, Axerim replaced the dagger at his belt, smirking in amusement the entirity of the time it took him to let Altair outside to pee.

After returning in of doors and removing his shoes, Axerim made any number of awkward made-up commands to get the dog to stay outside of the bedroom, though he didn't close the door. He had no idea if any of the whispers or odd signs he used meant anything to Altair, but eventually made his way to the bedside where Kaeul lay. 

Soundly asleep, he knelt beside the bed, thinking at first to wake her so that she knew he was there, but watching her rest so peacefully for several minutes, he simply couldn't bring himself to disturb her. So, when he noticed that in her sleep she had begun to tremble with cold as a draft had begun to come through, he decided that the next best thing was to just make her perfectly cozy.

Leaving the bedside, Axerim went to stoke a small space heater at the edge of the room, leaving a diffuser there on top of it so that the warming scents would soon fill the entire space with a comforting calm. 

Doffing his overcoat, Axerim knew that it would take a little while for the room to heat, so for the time being he would use his own body to warm the girl. Doing his best not to rouse Kaeul, he climbed onto the bed to rest along side her, letting the length Axerim folded his arms around Kaeul, hugging her against him gently so that he could feel her breathing. He lay his head on the same pillow as she, letting himself sink into a feeling of relaxation as the soft scent of her hair reached his nose. It took him no time at all to fall asleep.

Kaeul slept more or less soundly as she let herself fall into sleep. Once or twice her consciousness rose when Altair made a sound, but with a murmur she calmed him and the dog went to lay back down. The young woman didn't remember that she had ended up in Ax's room, all she knew was that it was cold and she was tired. Each time she woke, she fell back to sleep immediately, assuming her brother or father would let Altair out if the dog begged enough. It was hours later, and during a particularly lovely dream that Kae woke again and felt as though her dream had come to life. The scent of Ax lingered in her nose an dshe smiled to herself in a hazy mindset. It had been so real in her dream that it was manifesting in her waking world. Dimly she was aware that she was holding something, and assumed that she had clung to her pillow as she had all night waiting for the sun to rise.

It wasn't until she opened her eyes and saw her surroundings that she realized she wasn't in her bed, and she wasn't holding a pillow. Sleepily her eyes caught sight of the clay marks again and she became acutely aware that her body was warm. But she hadn't pulled up the unfamiliar blankets. Trying not to move, she looked down to see herself being held gently and felt the length of the body along her back. In a rush, she understood, and remembered. She had found Ax's rooms somehow, found his shirt and fallen asleep in his bed. The scent surrounding her and the arms holding her close were his. She was still tired, and somehow asleep in his arms she had gotten the best sleep she could remember.

The sounds of Altair were absent and she figured that the dog had been let out by the man when he had come home. Kae was reluctant to move, and her body was tired and worn out. Giving in, and knowing that no one would come to disrupt them, Kae allowed herself to settle back closer against him, twining her fingers in his and closing her eyes again. This time, she fell asleep with a smile on her face, deciding to enjoy the moment and deal with any consequences later.

Some time later she woke again, this time to her stomach rumbling. It had been many hours since she had first found the room and she remembered with a rush that she had been sleeping in Ax's arms. She had, however, missed lunch and was hungry after her day's work. Clearly, Kae mused, she wasn't going to get more work done that day. Not wishing to wake the man in bed with her, Kae dozed lightly as she waited for him to stir, resigning herself that he was going to ask her why she was in his rooms. She really had no good answer for him, but she wouldn't be the one to break the perfect spell around her. Hoping the movement wouldn't wake Ax, the young woman turned in his arms and lay her head against his chest, listening to the relaxed beat of his heart while he slept and she dozed.

Later that night, after both of them had gotten a good few hours of shut eye, Axerim's stomach began to rumble, too. It was surely well after the usual dinner time, but the comfort of having Kaeul's body snugged up against him was enough to have made him forget about things like hunger for a while. 

As the girl roused the last time though, he cracked his eyes open from the sleep, letting them rest on her as she resituated herself against his chest. When she settled herself against him comfortably again, Axerim gave a squeeze of his arms about her, taking a deep breath. He too, hesitated to get up, but felt the need to stretch his legs and get something to eat. He also wanted to bathe at some point before sleeping the rest of the night away.

As he was about to ask whether or not she was still awake when he was sure he heard both their stomachs growl again. Instead of waking her though, he decided to get up to make them food. If she wasn't already awake, then the smell of food wafting through the room in a few minutes would probably be enough to get her out of bed for a little while. So, sliding out from under the blanket, he tucked it against her to keep her warm, before leaving the bed. 

Axerim turned his back on her to leave the room, so didn't see if she was conscious enough to watch him go, but if she spoke anything, he'd likely be able to hear her into the other room -at least until he started cooking.


If she didn't stop him at the door, he continued to the kitchen area to get the cooking pit warmed enough to cook some rice and vegetables over it. He had a little bit of salted meat on hand, that he could prepare, too.

Before long, the sizzle of a little oil hit the bottom of a pan and some cooking wine and ginger juice went into it. The meat and vegetables were cut into bite size pieces or julienned, gradually added to the pot. Eventually he added a second sauce that infused the entire room with a delectable, savory smell. And by the time the main dish was about finished cooking, the rice too, had been fully steamed.

Hoping that Kaeul would wake on her own soon, Axerim went to a cupboard to pull down some eating utensils and decorative ceramic ware for them to eat off of. The ceramic dishes were not matched, but they were of good quality. If one looked closer, they were of varying quality; some of which he'd made in his earlier years as an apprentice, and some he'd crafted experimentally more recently, and simply taken a liking to, deciding to keep them for his own use. The pieces were each unique in their own way.

Mumbling nonsensical words as she woke, Kae stretched and realized she was alone in the bed and tucked in. Rolling her neck she sat up and looked around. Ax wasn't in the room, nor was Altair and the scent of food came from outside the door. Her stomach rumbled more loudly than it had before and Kae decided she couldn't ignore it any longer. Grumbling, she swept the blanket back and wondered when her shoes had been removed. Not wanting to see Ax after she had just woken, she went in search of a reflecting glass to finger brush her hair and look more awake. The armoire of clothing was cracked open and she pulled the door further. That was usually where people kept their mirrors.

Kae was shocked into staring. Instead of a reflecting glass, she had a set of rank knots she had never seen the man wearing staring her in the face. They looked to be the Southern Telgar colors, and those denoting a son of the Holder's son. She reached out and plucked them from their hook, holding them in her hands and willing them to transform into something else. Ax was a Holder's son. Her eyes swept around the room and alighted on a painting on the wall. She recognized the Holder from her drills with her father, and unmistakably, there sat the man whose arms she had fallen asleep in. Ax is the Southern Telgar Holder's son. her brain realized.

She was suddenly aware of her own rank. She wasn't good enough for a Holder's son! And what was he doing here playing at being a Smithcrafter! Had he been lying to her the whole time? No... that couldn't have been it. He was skilled at his work, and she had seen him with his wares and Rihan only that afternoon. Kae toyed with the idea that he had stolen the knots, after all he had been stealing from someone the night she had met him. The thought dissipated the moment it was over, because the picture on the wall seemed to confirm his identity. And truly, he hadn't really lied. He had introduced himself as a Smithcrafter and, she realized, with a nickname like she had. He, however, seemed to know more about her than she did of him. Her life as the Trader's daughter was not a secret to him.

Taking the knots with her, Kaeul left the bedroom and followed the scent of food to the kitchenette where Ax was cooking something. She could smell rice and vegetables, but what really made her mouth water was the meat he was adding to the mixture. She swayed slightly on her feet, overcome with hunger, but she quickly steadied herself against the back of a chair. Kae was still holding the rank knots and trying to figure out how to bring them up when she announced her presence at last, "How does a Holder's son learn to cook and become a Smithcrafter?" she asked, holding up the knots and daring him to deny his rank. Her hand shook slightly, out of nerves, as she tried to decide how she should be greeting the man who held so much rank over her. Being a close family friend to the Lord Holder Rihan didn't mean she could get away with acting familiar with this man if he expected her to otherwise. "Please, Ax... tell me I'm not going to become my worst fear. I'm not going to be a notch on your bedpost am I?" Her words were choked out as she looked at the knots, almost afraid of the answer.

Kae desperately wanted to believe the man truly cared for her in some way other than a bedpartner. It was in that moment when she realized that he meant more to her than that. "Please tell me I'm not..."

Turning around to face Kaeul coming into the room with dishware in hand, he took immediate notice of his most formal knots of rank in hers. 

Inwardly he cringed and then sighed, but held his composure outwardly. The last thing he wanted was for her to find out he was related to a holder. Sure, he'd'a told her eventually, but all too often those kinds of things influenced how other people felt about him and treated him, when he didn't want to feel set apart in that way. If he was going to be set apart, he wanted it to be because of his own talents. And if someone was going to value their relationship with him, he wanted it to be because they valued him as a person for who he was as an individual, not just because of family history. 

But, Kaeul facing hi now with the rank knots in hand,it was hard to get past all of that to build any kind of relationship with her like he might have hoped. Thus, beyond a little shocked himself, that Kae had gotten into his clothing armoir -which really couldn't be helped- he was also a little angry.

Without saying anything, Axerim set the ceramics on the table and turned to remove the food from the heating element it was cooking over. Scooping all of the meat and vegetables in their sauce onto a single plate, he took the smaller bowls into hand and dished rice into them, after. Placing one bowl of rice at the place in front of each of their chairs, he placed a large serving spoon in with the vegetables. 

"Here. Take what you want." 

Unsure of just how hungry she might be, it was better that they simply serve themselves and take what they want into their own bowls over the rice. Second or third helpings were also easy that way. 

Still a little upset, Axerim was working through his own thoughts in his mind as he pulled out his own chair to sit and start eating. In truth,he didn't want to be upset with Kaeul; he was more upset at the change in circumstance. He wouldn't blame her for finding his things when he hadn't locked his armoire or told her not to get into it. All the same, now that she realized the full truth of who he was, he couldn't deny that he was more upset that her surprise or confusion over the newly revealed fact apparently gave her reason to second guess him. It was unfair of her to stereotype him. It was insulting to him.

After dishing some of the meat and vegetables over his rice, the man pushed the plate a few inches across the table toward her place setting.He did so in a way that seemed slightly stern, as though he would not take no for an answer. He had prepared the meal for her, too, and she had come unannounced into his home and likely through the passageway linked to the Hold, so he preferred that she ate what he made for them. And did so without being all choked up like she was starting to be. He couldn't be upset and watch her cry at the same time. He'd cave immediately.

"Please. Sit. Eat before your food gets cold. It will keep you warm."

He took the liberty of another couple of bites from his own bowl before finally answering her about the rank knots.

"A holder's son learns to cook by doing his honorable time in the Guard -as I told you about before. I had joined at the tail end of the civil war. It also helps that I've been living on my own for a while, now."

Pausing for a breath, he added smartly, starting to let the frustration of the moment pass him by,"And if you must know, a holder's son learns to be a simthcrafter by taking up the trade. Smithcrafting led me here. It was my escape. I ran away from Southern and my cousin, Lord Rihan, took me under his wing to ensure that I could train under a Master at his hold when my father would not allow it at home.

"I'm not an eldest son, so I have more freedom to make my own rules. Which I do." 

As for the rest,he didn't want to acknowledge her stinging accusations about being a notch on his bedpost. So for the time, he said nothing further, only continuing to eat.

The change came over him quickly and Kae had to swallow thickly against the lump in her throat. The way he spoke to her after her questions came off rough and grated against her. "Here. Take what you want." He had set the food on the table with the rice, and a plate in front of her but Kae couldn't tell him now that his displeasure in her had made her appetite disappear.

Not wanting to offend, because the food really had made her mouth water moments before she had come from the room, she spooned a generous serving onto her plate and gingerly set the rank knots where they wouldn't get mussed. Kaeul kept her eyes on the food as the man spoke, still not having eaten a bite of it though she wanted to so she didn't offend him. Nodding along as the man spoke, she carefully put a piece of everything on her spoon with rice in order to get the full impact of the flavor and chewed carefully. It didn't surprise her to find that, though the food felt like metal in her mouth, it tasted amazing. A man of many talents. It only made her pain worse as she tried to keep him from seeing the silent tears that leaked over her eyes. "I'm sorry Ax. I was looking for a reflecting glass and assumed that it would be with the clothes like mine. I didn't mean to go through your things. I just..." she swallowed again, against the lump in her throat, "I didn't want to look like I just woke up when I came out." I wanted to look nice for you, instead. she thought to herself.

She, too, went about eating. It was the truth, and he had been honest with her, mostly, from the start. If anything, she hadn't told him her name which was, besides her Beastcrafter and Trader rank, the only thing she had from this man whom she had slept with. "Since I didn't tell you last night... My full name is Kaeul. My brother is Jungi. My father is Caravan Master Kuchiki. You were actually in the room with him and Lord Rihan earlier." she still hadn't looked up at him, Kae could now feel the tears on her cheeks, and didn't want to look like a child as she had the night before. She took another bite, noticing that her decently sized portion was almost gone. "I was there earlier and I was shocked to see you. My brother knows me too well... he would have seen something in me and known about... us. So I actually ran away. I'm not really sure how I found these apartments." she sighed, feeling now as though she had intruded upon his entirely private life, "All I remember is finding your shirt and falling asleep. Then waking up with you there..." A teary smile crossed her face as the thought softened her inside again. It had been wonderful, for all the trouble she had seemed to cause herself. It was perfect... she thought again, only to herself.

Kaeul thought she was babbling. Instead of continuing to speak, she tried to discreetly wipe her face so that he wouldn't see how upset she was over his tone or the reaction she had caused in him. Her hand drifted below the table, instinctively seeking the support of Altair who wasn't there this time. Her voice was thick, when she spoke again, "I'm sorry for intruding on your space. I'll leave if you want me to. I'm also sorry for my words earlier... they were unfair. It was shocking to be hit so hard with the rank behind you after everything I'd said about people of rank last night." Without Altair to calm her, the panic was rising in her chest, her hands wrung themselves in her lap as she watched them and tried to hold her composure together in front of Ax. She was beginning to feel as though she were much too foolish to deserve Ax's attention. Last night crying because he didn't take here back here, and then crying because of this? What he must think of her...

Not all of it could be bad, right? She tried to reason with herself. He had, after all, crawled into bed with her and had promised to meet up with her that day... a plan which she had somewhat broken, it seemed, by sleeping the afternoon and evening away in his bed for the sleep she desperately needed but hadn't gotten any of the night before. He had even made them dinner, before she had woken up. Ax had even tucked her into his bed... so her presence must not be completely, unwanted, right? Right? But all of that had been before she found his rank knots. Kaeul was having an inner struggle, but shook harder and harder outwardly. She had lost him for herself. She was certain of it. But all she had wanted was to look nice for him. She hadn't meant to pry... Guilt washed over her and paled her face as Kae waited for him to tell her to leave.

Axerim tried to ignore the fact that she'd started to cry, when he finally glanced up from his own bowl to see her again. He'd obviously said something to make her even more upset; or perhaps just made her think that she'd made him very upset, which wasn't really the case.

When he'd cleared his first serving from his bowl, Axerim set it down in front of him before leaning over the table onto his forearms. There, he watched her silently, thoughtfully, as she picked at her food and was finally able to finish most of it. Axerim didn't feel guilty about the things that he'd said, or the sudden attitude he'd taken with her, but his sour mood had indeed passed already. Her reaction was a bit much; but only because it made her seem far more fragile than she must have wanted to admit the other day, when she sicked her dog on him when she thought he was a burglar.

Listening to her all the way through, the peaceful, thoughtful Axerim that most people knew so well, had returned. A faint, but nevertheless warm smile rose upon his lips, lighting his eyes with understanding.

"I thought I recognized you from somewhere." He'd considered giving her his full name, because from the start that was one thing they hadn't shared with one another. However, judging by the way she called him 'Ax', she must have guessed it by the discovery of who he was, because most people still called him Rim and remained relatively unaware of any familial connection he held to the Blood. He guessed she may have seen the painting on his wall as well, and been able to place it.

"From what Rihan has told me, your family has had a close relationship with the main Bloodline for a long time. I haven't lived in Telgar River Hold for too long, but long enough that I've met your father and brother Jungi, both. I know I've seen you in the hold before, as well."

The smile grew a little, apparently amused by the train of his own thoughts. And with it, he was hoping to put her mind at ease. His tone of his voice was easy, and his manner changed toward her again -this time not sternly. "Is it such an embarrassment to take an interest in a Smithcrafter of the Hold?" The words were in partial tease. He couldn't imagine the kind, warmhearted man that was her father, being all that strict about who she spent her time with, unless perhaps her worry only stemmed from the fact that they slept together outside of marriage, and if he was hoping to marry her off one day, well Axerim had just taken the one thing she was supposed to preserve for that time. Not that he would be at all apologetic. 

Axerim might be kind and have a good heart, but he tended to do what he wanted. His excuse lay in the fact he was a Holder's son. To some extent, he was beyond reproach and could get away with it, though he didn't like blaming others for his own actions. All the same however, he wasn't the kind of person to outright abuse whatever authority his birthright held for him.

He was silent for just a moment, and glancing to the table, remembered that he hadn't filled their drink cups yet. He'd have to do so momentarily. 

With eyes on the table before him still, he continued, "The passageway you used to find this place, I guard. No one else needs to know about it. I'm not even sure if your brother knows about it, and he and Rihan are very close. It's just an emergency escape for the Holder's family; even I do not use it to come and go. In the future, it is best to visit me through..." the only other obvious point of entry, "the front door."

At that, Axerim was grinning again.

"It doesn't bother me that you are here -even if unexpectedly. I really don't mind if you rummage through all of my things -as long as you respect them. And as for your earlier words... do you think that you are the only person who has ever said those kinds of things?" To feel that way was silly really, so he was glad he might be able to help put that in perspective for her.

"Since I live and work here as Rim the Smithcrafter, not Axerim the Heir Presumptive of Southern Telgar, most people don't realize I am related to the Blood. People around me talk all the time without realizing there's someone like that amoungst them. Whether I agree or don't, whether I like it or not, I'm used to it. But those kinds of feelings and words are generally only made out of ignorance. For that, I cannot fault them. 

"I also have not ever lived up to the expectations of the perfect holder's son, either. Far from it in the eyes of my family, I suppose, so perhaps some of their words are right. But... I think I'd rather live with people honestly so that they know who I am as a person, and not know me as a rank alone."

Having brought his gaze back up to her, Axerim watched her expression closely to see whether or not she was beginning to feel any better. Had those tears stopped falling? As for looking nice for him, well, he wouldn't say anything about the little bit of bed-head she had going on right now, but it was endearing more than anything. And more than anything, made him want to pull her right back into the sack with him.

Kaeul was beginning to tire of feeling helpless and lovesick. Why did this man have such an affect on her? The obvious answer wasn't good enough for her, because she was sure that physical intimacy didn't have this affect on everything. Thinking about it she had to conclude that she desperately did not like upsetting Ax. He hadn't spoken the whole time she had talked and when her tears stopped running and embarrassing her, she looked up and caught him smiling at her. It was faint, but there. The knot in her stomach seemed to loosen slightly as his gaze was on her.

Feeling a tiny bit better, Kae grinned at his comment about seeing her around the Hold before. "Kinda hard to miss 'the girl with the dog' isn't it? Altair is kind of... memorable." But it was his next words that brought her fiery gaze up and her fist down on the table. The venom in her voice could have melted through the table given the chance, "I am not embarrassed or ashamed of you, or anything we have done. I never will be. I don't care if you are a Smithcrafter or a male drudge, your rank doesn't mean anything to me. What mattered to me is that when I saw your rank knots, denoting the son of a Holder, I felt like I wasn't good enough for you. I'm sorry for my words, but can you blame me, as a woman, for being worried, just a bit?" her words calmed slightly as she spoke, "Not all of us are... treated as..." perfectly, she thought to herself, "nicely after something like this."

Pursing her lips she was shocked at her outburst, but none of it had been lies and she refused to apologize for it. "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to forget that I found those ranks. You can be Ax, or Rim to me... because that's the man I care about. I don't want to have to watch my actions and try to be a proper Lady Trader around you, knowing that you have seen and touched me in ways that are very much not proper for us before there's some sort of marriage." a smile played on her face, as she happily remembered the night before and their afternoon in bed just sleeping. "I don't regret my actions. And I will never, ever, regret you."

This time she had talked too much again, and she hid her slight shyness over it by serving herself more rice and food into her bowl. Perhaps for the first time she noticed the worksmanship of the bowl and her finger traced the delicate edge distractedly. "You made this." it wasn't a question. She had, after all, looked around his shop when they had been in it, she had seem some work in the process of being made. Her eyes glazed slightly as she though of his hands moulding the clay into the shape of the bowl and remembered the feeling of his hands on her skin. But then he was speaking again and she shook her head to clear it and looked back up at him, "Passageway? What to do you mean? We're in the Hold." thinking back, her confusion grew. She had run from seeing him... where had she run? Kae couldn't remember. "Rim, how did I get here?" her slight alarm came through as she tried to remember and couldn't. "Escape from the Hold? Emergency? Well it seemed like one at the time," she grinned, "But unless I went looking for it, I'm pretty sure I couldn't find it again. At least not without Altair." but her smile grew larger as he suggested she visit him through the actual front door. Blushing slightly, she nodded her agreement. She didn't want to explain herself every time she went into the Hold and disappeared by another means. Someone would figure it out.

In her methodical way, Kaeul had once again placed one of everything on her spoon to eat as a whole taste profile, and this time when she popped the bite into her mouth while he was talking, she didn't feel as though she were eating iron. Her eyes shot up and her hand covered her mouth. When she swallowed she gasped, "You are a really good cook, Rim!" but she had cut him off in his explaining that she wasn't the only one to say things like she had, "Sorry, go on." she said, waving off her comment and focusing so she could listen to him speak.

One of his lines hit her square in the chest. In that same conversation she had asked to know him as she had met him, without the knowledge of his ranks. "I think I'd rather live with people honestly so that they know who I am as a person, and not know me as a rank alone." Kaeul had put her spoon down and was simply looking at him. Her hands, needing something to do, strayed to her hair which was still mussed with bedhair from her time in his bed again, but she pulled it down from its ponytail and ran a hand through it to try and comb it out. When it settled around her shoulders she stood, going to where he still sat. Knowing she was about to be very forward, her eyes light with a smile that she couldn't hold back as she settled herself in his lap facing him and kissed him soundly. "I'd like to know you more, and forget your rank and mine. Can we just enjoy each others company for however long it lasts?" Her hands cradled his face as she looked at him, there was no pressure in the words, and if he had indicated he wanted her to get out of his lap she would. But she moved her hands from his face and wrapped her arms around his torso to hug him, "I'm sorry. I respect you for you, not for your ranks, Smithcrafter."

Unsure of what she meant by 'treated as nicely', the notion of her being treated in a manner ill-suited of any woman irked him. He wanted to ask immediately who might be mistreating her so that he could confront them, but she went on before he could do so. 

He was glad however, to hear that regardless of his rank, she'd never felt embarrassed about being with him. Even before she knew he was the son of a holder. It was equally as silly however, for her to assume herself unworthy of him, in light of his true rank. 

The girl's comments were all over the place.  He smiled as she interjected at random, and then admitted to liking what food he'd prepared. And then somehow, she was taking time in their conversation to take notice of the particular dishes they were eating off of. Assuming that her sudden distractibility was due to her feeling better about everything, he let that be a good sign.

Soon, Kaeul was coming to sit at his lap, which he did nothing to hinder. He pushed himself back from the table enough that she could be close to him. Though her words were reassuring that she'd cared about him before learning of his rank, what filled him with even more warmth was her arms looping around him. 

Bringing his own arms to embrace about her shoulders, Axerim waited until she finished her thoughts before speaking.

"If I cared so much about perfect behaviour, neither of us would be here." A wry expression pulled up at one corner of his mouth to create a lop-sided smirk. Of course, he didn't think that either of them were completely inappropriate either.

"Don't worry about us having been intimate. When your family finds out, they won't be able to say anything because of who I am." And if her father was smart, he'd use the knowledge to rope them into getting married. 

It would be a perfect arrangement for both families. For all that Axerim had overheard, Jungi had always hoped that his sisters would marry into the holder's family. Though, the trader had always thought that she might marry Rihan's younger brother, not his cousin. But either way, that would make them related through a marriage, which was ideal for the two men who treated one another like brothers. It was also not a marriage proposal that her father would likely turn down -especially after Rim had already deflowered the girl. 

Speaking of which... the man held her back from him for just a moment, eyes tightening at their corners as he regarded her more seriously. 

"Kae. Be honest. Is there someone who's mistreated you? Whatever it is, I can put a stop to it."

Wanting to protect her, Rim was sure he would do his best to intervene on the behalf of any woman who was being treated inappropriately, but in light of his feelings for the girl in his arms, he felt particularly vehement about doing so.

Kaeul smiled into Ax's shoulder as he held her back. She had to grin even more when he commented on 'perfect behavior', "I suppose that's true." she was feeling much better about the two of them, but she felt her heart rate speed up when he commented on them finding out, "Oh, Rim! But what if they do find out? What if they think less of me for doing something like that?" she squirmed a bit, "I don't want my father to find out. But to be honest, I'll probably tell Jungi. He and I are very close." after thinking for a moment though she had to concede the fact that her father might not care as much as she thought, "Though, if my father knew your rank he might even be happy about it." grinning she looked at him again, "Do you want to tell him?" her eyes twinkled with the dare, but she would have told her father if he wanted to. In fact, she admitted to herself, it would be preferable to marrying the first man her father found for her instead.

She was confused for a moment, though, when he pushed her away from him. For the span of a heartbeat she thought he wanted her off his lap, but instead he looked into her eyes and spoke, "Kae. Be honest. Is there someone who's mistreated you? Whatever it is, I can put a stop to it."

With a sigh, she relaxed some, "There are always men who think that because I am a woman, I should be at their beck and call for their needs. But I wasn't referring to myself being treated badly necessarily. Altair has been with me for a year now and he's a pretty good deterrent to such men. But..." she trailed off, not knowing if she should comment, "Some of the men my father has me meet are forward and crude when he's not there to hear. Like when they ask me to dance. They are the reason I took myself into my own hands. I don't want to end up with someone disgusting and lecherous like them. I have some... female friends, sort of, from other Holds who have slept with people before marriage and have been disowned and mistreated as a result. That was what I meant."

Still pushed back away from Rim, Kaeul let her hands rest on his chest and smiled. She liked looking at him. He was handsome and caring, and despite being of rank, he acted nothing like those who let rank get to their heads. "You know, I don't think you are the type to do that anyway. I'm not sure why being around you makes me act so foolishly and emotionally. I'm not like this generally. It makes me feel silly when I feel like I'm behaving like a lovestruck little girl. What is it about you that makes me feel so..." she floundered for a word. Kae couldn't think of one and shrugged instead, "Like this?" she asked, lamely.

While there was apparently no immediate reason for him to worry about her being mistreated, at her mention, Axerim did begin to wonder if her family would be the kind to do something like disown her if they found out that she'd been with a man before wedding.

Axerim had heard of those kinds of things happening, and in this instance, Kaeul, though not a titled Lady, was still from a respectable family who took their reputation seriously from what he could tell. As they should, being so close to a family of the Blood. It would likely be a shock to them, though they could both hope that the fact of who it was that she slept with would lessen their anxiety over the loss of her purity. 

Some families in desperate enough need to wed their daughters well, even tried to get their daughters in bed at an early age with a Highborn. That way they could claim he then had an obligation to marry their daughter -or at least to support she and his illegitimate offspring, if she were to become pregnant. Axerim however, did not believe Kaeul was up to those kinds of games. She'd had no idea about his true identity before.


Glad that Kaeul was now of the mind that he was incapable of being the sort to play with her emotions so freely or otherwise expect her to do every little thing that he bade her do just because she was a woman, he was able to breathe a veritable sigh of relief. At least she had worked that much out in her own mind after stopping to think about things. It was kind of cute how worked up she let herself get, even to the point of tears, before thinking things all the way through. Maybe she was right. Maybe strong affection did that to you.

With an understanding nod at all that she said, he wondered just how infatuated Kaeul could be with him. Or for that matter,he with her, in such a short time. Was it possible for two people to fall in love quickly? He worried that she might have certain unspoken expectations of him now that they'd had sex. He worried that perhaps he wouldn't be able to fulfill those expectations, or know what they were, but like she said, they could certainly continue seeing one another to see just how long things between them might last. For now,that's really all he felt that he could promise.

"That decision to talk to family about our relationship doesn't need to be made hastily." Though he assumed that once her brother knew about how close they'd become, it would be only a short while after that Rihan found out about it from Jungi, and at that point, there was no telling who else might receive the news.  Granted, Axerim figured that his cousin would be discreet in his handling of the knowledge, but if Jungi wanted his sister to marry into the family, he might play that card to get Rihan to begin inquiring after whether or not the Trader Kuchiki would  have an interest in seeing his daughter married to Axerim. The entire proposal could happen without either he or Kaeul knowing about it if Rihan knew that they'd slept together. 

He assumed though, that his cousin would come to him about it beforehand.

"Whatever happens, I'm sure that your father does not want you to be with someone who would take advantage of you, or mistreat you, either. Seeing that he and your brother share the same keen eye for value in goods that they trade, I'm sure they have some good eye for the value in people, too. Including whether or not a man would be suitable for their beloved Kaeul. 

"I'm sure your father tries to be thoughtful in his choice of partner for you."

After saying so, Axerim sat back, eyes still on the girl in his lap, as he wondered to himself whether or not he and she might really be able to love one another. If chance brought them together so suddenly, was it possible that they would choose to be together long-term? The way he felt about her in that moment, he didn't dismiss the possibility, but it was too soon to say for sure. Nevertheless, it was something to be considering.

It had been some time since Kaeul had originally found her way into Axerim's apartments. They had spent a good deal of time together since, both at their respective Crafts and in his apartments. It was one of those such occasions that Kae found herself waking in his bed again, wrapped comfortably in his arms and one of his shirts. With a grin, she thought it was the shirt she had met him in that had told her the identity of the room's owner. The man was still asleep when she woke feeling nauseous. With a quiet groan she curled her legs closer to her stomach and tried to wait for it to pass so she wouldn't have to wake Axerim when she got out of bed.

The sensation came all too suddenly for Kae to try and hide it from Axerim, as she lept from the bed and raced to the privy where she immediately threw up. It was the third time that week and her usual energy was dampened noticeably. One hand held her stomach and the other attempted to gather her long hair out of the way as she continued to dry heave. Altair, noting that Kae was in distress, rushed from her side and went to nudge Axerim in the small of his back with a cold nose as if he didn't know that Kae had run from the room to vomit.

Her skin was clammy and cold as she leaned against the edge of the seat above the privy on the arm that was holding her hair back. Light headed, nauseous and shivering between dry heaves, Kaeul was miserable. The woman was weaving back and forth without realizing it.

Axerim had felt Kaeul rouse where he held her in his arms. When she left the bed quickly to use the privy, his thoughts were still hazy from sleep, and the only justification for her having done so in his sleepy state was because she must have had to relieve herself.

He didn't realize that he'd rolled forward onto his stomach, one arm hanging over the place where Kaeul normally would have been, so that his hand dangled from the edge of the bed. But soon, Altair was nudging him with that wet nose, whimpering in a way that seemed pitifully worrisome. With that, the dog was able to rouse him enough that he realized what other noises came from the vicinity of the privy.

Immediately awake, Axerim swung his legs over the side of the bed, throwing off the blankets to go to the door of the lavatory where Kaeul was. Allowing her her privacy, he didn't enter without permission, or even peek inside, but he did call out her name, the sound of his voice echoing his obvious concern.

"Kae. Are you alright?"

He tried to think if he'd heard of any illness said to be going around, but he couldn't remember anyone going home sick from the smithcrafter's quarter recently.

In response to the man's voice, and feeling bad that she had woken him from his sleep, Kaeul whimpered. "No..." the door wasn't even closed and he would have had no issue hearing the dry heave that issued forth, stopping her from saying anything more. She noted that he hadn't come in and was equal parts relieved and disappointed. Altair, however, had no trouble wandering in with his mistress and planted himself firmly nearby. Once the string of heaves ended she tried to speak again, "I don't feel so good..." her words were pitiful and weak and all she wanted to do was curl up on the floor of the privy.

"Can you get me some water?" she managed to croak, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and grimacing. Her mouth tasted horrible and she desperately wanted something to freshen it. Not only that, but she hoped that Axerim wouldn't try to kiss her in this state, given that she had been vomiting. The huge dog, in his worry, whined at her and lay his head in her folded legs and she absently patted him. "And maybe put Altair out? He might need to-" her words were cut off by another vomiting episode.

Axerim felt his own stomach churn out of empathy when Kaeul moaned that she didn't feel good. Her request to put Altair out brought him into the bathroom briefly, where he visually assessed how ill she might look before reaching down to give the dog a nudge. 

"Come on, Altair. Why don't you guard the front door for a little while." It would be good to have Altair there while he went to find a Healer to see to Kaeul. She looked pekid and... was already throwing up again. At this rate, even if he got her water, she wouldn't be able to keep any liquids down; which is what she needed to be able to do.

Signaling Altair to come with him, he walked from the bathroom to let the dog out and then get a cup of water for Kaeul. Once he'd taken it back and checked on her again, he bent to plant a kiss at the top of her head between her dry heaves and throwing up. If her condition didn't improve soon, he was afraid of what might happen. All the possibilities were things he didn't want to think of.

"I'll be back soon. I'm going to bring a Healer from the Hold."



Departing from her side, Axerim took the emergency passageway from behind the folding screen along the back wall of his bedroom to make his way into the Hold. After arriving there, Axerim rushed to the infirmary where he knew most of the Healers by name. 

"Lyria?  Ariadne?"

Rim searched the faces in the room until he found who he was looking for.


@Caoimhe, #Ariadne

Ariadne had been late coming in that morning. Between getting both her daughters ready, leaving the older with her parents and lugging the littler along with, she was already tired. She wasn't always late and she certainly didn't always walk in to find someone calling her name. With her baby wrapped to her body by a long fabric, she had both of her hands free.

Her voice was soft and hinted at concern, "Lord Axerim? How can I help you?" He didn't need to say much. He was looking for someone to help a woman or he wouldn't have asked for her and Lyria specifically. It sounded like the girl was ill, so she packed soe supplies she thought she might need in a bag and approached the young Lord.

"Take me to her." She said, not needing to hear him respond.

They went a route she wasn't sure she'd been before but then the Hold could be quite complicated.  When they arrived, she was ushered toward the bathroom where she listened for sound of more vomiting.

Knocking gently, "Kaeul, it is Ariadne, I believe we met before at Lord Rihan's wedding. I'm going to come in and assess your condition, alright?" She assumed that it would be as it was the reason she had come.

Ariadne immediately closed the door behind her. Kaeul was not looking so good but from what Ariadne could see she didn't seem feverish. "What are your symptoms?"

As the young woman rattled off her symptoms, Ari nodded. Then she asked, "And when did your woman's cycle last come?"

Upon hearing the answer, "Kaeul have you been..."she cleared her throat, "having sexual relations with a man?" Ariadne didn't really care if the other woman was or with whom because it was not her business. Enough people didn't approve of her having her child out of wed-lock as it was. She would never pre-judge someone else.

This time she nodded again, "You'll be feeling this way frequently for several more weeks in the mornings. There is not much you can do about it, unfortunately. I suggest eating a bread of some kind before bed, the more fibrous the better." Ariadne paused just a moment, "Congratulations! You are with child." Her smile then was sincere.

As she said it, she thought about her own rough start that morning. Ariadne didn't have morning sickness but she wasn't quite, herself. The other woman's predicament though had her thinking back. When had her last cycle been? That wasn't possible. I mean, she had been given a ride on a dragon since her last time.

What else could it be? She thought and saying very little else to the other woman, added, "I won't say anything." She reassured. "If you have need, I work in the infirmary, just ask for me. If I'm not there ask for Healer Lyria."

Everything was feeling too much for the young woman as she sat trying to stop the dry heaving. It took a moment for her to register that Axerim had gone for the Healer, and she hadn't had time before he rushed off to argue the point. She gave up the idea immediately as she started dry heaving again. Kae nodded to herself, it was probably best that he had gone for the Healer.

Sooner than she expected a woman's voice was speaking to her through the privy door. Axerim must have run through the passageway, she thought to herself before croaking an affirmative. She was grateful that the woman closed the door on the man, but even more glad that it was a woman she had met once or twice before. "Good morning, Healer Ariadne." she managed, her head resting on her arm. As the woman went down her list of questions she answered dutifully and truthfully.

And suddenly it became awkward. ""Kaeul have you been..." the woman cleared her throat, "having sexual relations with a man?"

Biting her lip, but knowing better than to lie to a Healer, Kaeul looked the woman in the eye and nodded, "Axerim..." she said lowly. Her hands had begun to shake, she had a feeling she knew what the woman was going to say next.

"You'll be feeling this way frequently for several more weeks in the mornings. There is not much you can do about it, unfortunately. I suggest eating a bread of some kind before bed, the more fibrous the better." The Healer paused just a moment, "Congratulations! You are with child." From the look on her face, Kae could sense the sincerity of the woman's congratulatory words. The younger woman's eyes drifted down to the baby strapped to Ariadne. She was going to have one of those. A baby... she was... pregnant.

Her hand went lower on her stomach, settling just above her uterus as she gaped at the woman, "Pregnant?" before she could beg the woman not to tell anyone, the woman was already assuring her that she wouldn't tell and inviting her to come find her if she was needed. "Thank you, Ariadne. I'll make sure to do that." She sat for a moment, just thinking, before realizing she was feeling well enough to move again. Standing, and feeling much less dizzy she smiled at the Healer.

Grinning, she gestured to the baby the woman was carrying. "Do you... do you mind if I hold the baby?" Kae had always been fond of them, but the Caravan rarely travelled with pregnant women, or animals for that matter, and so the younger woman had had less experience than she could have with the tiny things. Feeling rather cramped in the privy, Kae opened the door and went toward the Kitchenette where she sat at the table. A genuine smile lit her face as the woman let her hold the little baby girl while she was sitting.

The young woman coo'd nonsense at the baby, noting that Axerim seemed to have left when the door closed behind the Healer. The baby was making Kae's heart melt more and more as she held her but soon she felt as though she should give the little girl back to her mother. Her stomach needed something in it to soak up the bile, and Ariadne had suggested bread. "She's beautiful, Ariadne." Kae smiled, as she handed back the baby. She had been so caught up in holding her that if the man had returned, she wouldn't have noticed him. It was with some reluctance that Kae handed the Healer the infant and went in search of bread in the kitchenette, trying to decide how to tell Axerim she was pregnant.

Grateful that at least one of the Healers he knew was available to come in a rush, Axerim led Ariadne back through the private passageway into his quarters. Taking her straight to the lavatory where Kaeul was, Ariadne brushed past him before he was able to offer any direction. 

About to follow her in, the door was suddenly there to block his way, causing him to rock back on his heels a step.

"She.." Rim stuttered, a little taken aback, "She's locking me out."  

With a shake of his head, for a moment, he tried to press himself up against the door to listen in, but it was no use. He wasn't good at this kind of thing. So, talking himself into having a little patience -Kaeul was being seen to by a healer, after all- Axerim decided to go keep Altair company. Or rather... Altair could keep him company.

Making sure to throw on a shirt first and replace his nightwear with proper trousers, Axerim sat on the step just outside the front door, with the front door held ajar, until he heard movement from inside.

Getting back to his feet, Axerim was glad to see that it was Kaeul moving about. She seemed to have some rather single-minded focus just then though, as she bypassed the front door to whisk straight into the kitchen. He was surprised though to see her holding a baby, but remembered that Ariadne had had her child swaddled against her when he'd brought her here; he figured it was only natural that Kaeul would want to hold it. Girls usually made the bigger fuss over babies.

Watching her hold the child though, he did think she looked natural at it, but... were all women? 

He dismissed thoughts outside of his concern for her immediate health issues momentarily, though. Not asking the questions that were in his mind, like just what the Healer had said, he assumed she must be heading for something that could be used for treatment. Eyes following after Kaeul then, Axerim meandered slowly back inside, standing beside the entrance to the kitchen area. At least there, he figured she'd notice him and say something of her own accord.

Ariadne left not long after Kaeul had handed the baby girl back. She was still on the hunt for bread when she turned and noticed Axerim standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Knowing he wanted to hear the Healer's verdict she paused and just looked at him. Her baby would share his features with hers. The thought made her face soften as she imagined it and she shook her head with a smile and turned back to the kitchen, "Is there any bread in here?" On the table sat her water that the man had fetched before disappearing for Ariadne, and Kaeul beelined for it and drank it all down thirstily.

Finally finding some bread, Kae decided against cutting it and instead ripped the small loaf in half and tried to swallow it down before nausea decided to make an appearance again. Refilling her glass and washing it down, she was suddenly overcome with the desire to lay back down and relax lazily all day. With a smile she turned and walked past Axerim toward his bedroom, still wearing only his shirt. It occurred to her that she should have put clothing on for the Healer's visit, but she couldn't be bothered now that she was gone and they were alone again. Climbing into his bed again, she pulled the blankets up around her chin and watched the door, waiting for him to come in.

It took her a moment to realize she had forgotten to bring her water cup with her into the bedroom, but she really didn't want to get up again. Instead she set her mind on hoping Ax would realize she would want it and bring it with him if he followed her into the room.

Axerim thanked Ariadne for coming on such short notice, sending her away as soon as the situation seemed to be under control. Kaeul had found her bread and begun munching on it, which he supposed the Healer had told her to do; but neither of them would tell him what was wrong, or if nothing was wrong at all.

It confused him when Kaeul seemed to perk up but at the same time got very quiet. Still, he didn't pry.

When she waltzed back into the bedroom, he watched her go with as much consternation written all over his face. Before he joined her though, being as thoughtful as he was, Axerim refilled her water cup and took it with him.

As he walked into the bedroom, it was easier to see her as the morning's light filtered in through the window more brightly now. Setting the cup next to her, on the bedside table, he went to the window and drew back all the curtains, pressing open the window panes, thinking that a little fresh air might do Kaeul some good,too. Afterward, he went to the side of the bed, sitting next to her, even if he had to make her scooch over a little.

Since she seemed to be feeling a little better, seeing as how she was trying to hide smiles behind the covers, he offered a tentative smile, "Are you feeling better, then?"

Kae grinned behind the blanket seeing him come in. In her hand she held a tiny thing but she scooted over when he decided to sit. Nodding that she felt better she made room for him in the bed with her. Pulling him down so that he was laying with her again, she set her head against the pillows and opened one of his hands, placing a tiny seed in the middle of it. The other she moved to her stomach, bared now beneath his shirt.

"That's how big our baby is."

When she didn't answer right away, he was patient and let her pull him down to the bed with her. Relaxing at her side as he settled his head on the pillow next to her, he decided just to be consoled by the fact that she seemed to be feeling a little better; that was, until she opened his palm to place something in it. He barely had a chance to see what it was that she'd put there before the words came out of her mouth. And out of his.

"Huh?!"

Axerim's eyes grew wide as he sat up onto his elbows, expression infused with shock and momentary disbelief.