The Ties that Bind

[Suede]

"Just be yourself, you'll be fine. As long as you don't go trying to make any bows in the middle of the house, anyways. They might not like the smell." Kals was being a particular good anchor at the moment, particularly in the fact that anchors don't speak, and neither did he. He simply stretched out in the water, taking a moment to realize he'd forgotten to remove his boots and that he'd have to leave them out to drain later. If she wanted help he'd obviously provide it, but he was mostly watching the far bank and trying his very best to do no more than smirk faintly as he exaggerated efforts to sit down.

He wanted to dive under for a moment, but with her pinning him there he just resigned himself to having warm, dry shoulders. He also considered trying to get her to put her head under, but thought the wolf might really lose it at the idea. "Well, I'll help you be stronger, and just make sure you're around someone that can help you one day when you don't want to be strong anymore. Someone able to do what you used to do."

"Worship." He said it again for her benefit after she had sounded it out. "Not anymore than I do. Not really. I suppose my mother is a bit more of a believer than the rest of us are. But we really just... don't. Eda and El I've never really heard of having organized worship at least. You just give them offerings at the right times."

He turned red again, though less than before, when she made her comment about staring at him. He was watching her move the shirt through the water and grunted. "We're modest, and people can sometimes get clothing that's better for the water, like what you're wearing. We're not completely silly. No one swims in the Rain Wilds anyways, the water is bad. We swim when we leave, and you might be out at sea or away from prying eyes. Besides, salt water is easier to float in." And his family only really swam with friends and relatives about, which meant less need to cover yourself up in layers, veils, robes and other accessories.

She wasn't holding on so tight at the moment, which was good for the circulation in his arm, so he took the chance to scoop some water up in a palm and rather blatantly dump it on her head. "He could, and that would change where you're going, but you just keep watching the stars and the landmarks and correct your course. Not much different than a storm coming in on land, though it's a bit more annoying."

"Oh, a lot longer than my parents. A few hundred years, at least. It takes generations for liveships to quicken, and most of them have been awake a long, long time." Kals appreciated her curiousity, and he was more willing to speak on his land when she asked the questions that she wanted to know about. "And Glenn is worse, really. At least the newer Satrap of Jamalia was a fop for a while, but he's progressed a bit." He said Satrap slowly, letting her know the name of the leader. "I think getting kidnapped and then rescued by Bingtowners helped things." Kals also couldn't lie about appreciating her focus on him while he babbled about what was common knowledge in his home.

"Not a spirit, I don't think. Unless the dragons themselves are. They touch us and change us, but we were changed wrong for a very long time by living on the cursed shore." There was some similarity, but what changed the Rain Wilders was far more tangible these days, and not simply a pox upon the people who lived there. "They've as much told some people that they can direct the changes in those they see fit, to make them more. And that just being around dragons will change you anyways, not always for the better the way a guided change is." He slithered his hand through the water slowly, trying to mimic a snake for her to see. "They're very alive, they start as serpents in the water, the swim up our river to cocoon and change to dragons. Apparently the cocoons hold their ancestor's memories." He did his best to sate that curiosity. He didn't know enough about the dragons to really be sure, but he gave her what he was aware of.

Her last question made him grunt in agreement to it. "Yes, my family probably not, but yes. People tend to hide themselves and how they've been changed from strangers. We're embarrassed, cautious, shy, whatever you want to think of it. But we don't like everyone seeing how we are. So there will be people around dressed the way I do in town." He made sure she'd know that they'd hide, but it was from everyone, not just her.

[Dulcie]

To the comment about the bows she would give a mock look of disappointment while she said. "I will have to change my plans then." Quirking a look up towards him to see if he caught her use of humor. She was trying to be funny and she was looking to see if it had worked. Clearly she had no intentions of actually making bows in his family home.. the tavern staff had chided her enough for that one.

"What sort of offerings do your people make?" She asked curiously, offering an answer of her own. "My people had special plants that our spirit leaders would burn when there is time to worship." The word sounded better the second time around. She was noting small details then. A mother with a little more faith than the rest, that was important and she'd remember it, tucking it away in the back of her mind.

"Maybe we will have lucky and you will live as long as me." She had considered that sometimes, knowing it was a bit of fancy as she was quite certain that such would not be the case, but who hadn't been hopeful in the name of love? She'd think of something then when we talked about the modesty of his people and the swimming, looking back at the water again, touching a fingertip to the top of it so she could watch the ripples. "How do your young learn to swim with no good water? Do they have to travel to places like this?" She couldn't imagine the children just being loaded up in boats and dropped into the ocean after all.

She wasn't expecting it when he scooped the water up in his palm and dumped it on her. She startled obviously, her whole body scrambling for a moment and there was a flash second of panic, but nothing more than that as reason quickly took over as she could see that she was exactly where she was a moment before. The wolf was certainly not amused and let him know so and Kacela simply gave him a deep glare, letting it sit there for a moment, long enough to make him wonder if she truly was mad before her lips curved up in a bit of a grin and she shook her head, much the way a dog might, letting those hundreds of braids scatter water all over him in return. When she was finished she'd look up with a look of satisfaction. Fair was fair. "Sometimes I think you want the wolf to try to bite you again." She'd tease lightly, having come to terms with what had happened before.

And then they'd settle right back into where their conversation had been, one fo the words he used catching her interest. "Satrap? Is that two words together, like a trap for your God Sa?" It was a curious combination after all, and in the process of learning the language she'd found there to be some interesting patterns. That of course led her to another question. "Do your people speak the same words as the people here? Will I be able to talk with them?" It would certainly complicate things if she couldn't. Learning one language was more than enough.

She'd consider what he said about the dragons and their spirits curiously, thinking about it for a moment. "Maybe not, but it your people have many gifts I think. You are good changed as you are, stronger. There may be a spirit hand in that I am thinking. Gifts from the spirits do not come with out curse too. Like me. Like your wronged people." She'd pause for a moment and move to touch a fingertip along the scales near his shoulder. "I am glad for your changes."

She'd nod at his last statement about the people hiding from her. She understood that it wouldn't just be her of course, and perhaps the other visitors that came through would make her seem less unusual, it was something that comforted her. "What else can you tell me? What do your people eat? How do they live in their homes above the bad waters?"

[Suede]

Her attempt at a joke had him rolling his eyes. He wasn't going to believe that one, even if it was a good effort. She may be from another world, so to speak, but she had more than her fair share of common sense. He smiled a bit, certainly, but if she had been hoping to actually convince him it hadn't worked... and sometimes he wasn't sure exactly which way she was going with her jokes.

He thought about burning the plants and shrugged one shoulder, the other was stuck with its arm caught in her grip. "Incense? Some people burn that, maybe throw an offering of food or symbolic items. I've heard some people give animal sacrifices." He didn't really pay so much attention that he could be entirely certain. His mother never did anything extravagant.

"I might. I can put a few hundreds years behind me if I'm lucky according to the rumors going around lately." Of course, if he was unlucky he might last considerably less. And he could always wind up with an unnatural death, but he was careful to steer his mind away from those considerations. Her question about the swimming was a good way to do so. "If people can afford it or are motivated they'll take a river barge to the ocean, or take their kids to learn while they're in Bingtown. If you own a ship or work on one your parents get you on board and toss you off the side once you hit better water..." He was going to stop there, but then thought she might take the last comment a bit too seriously. "They go in with you, of course."

He was expecting the startled reaction, and certainly the less than pleased sentiments from the pair of them when it came to that water. He met her gaze blandly until the grin came, and then he proceeded to sputter at the return attack. He brought his free hand out of the water to wipe his face, which accomplished nothing, and blew out between his lips. "I didn't expect that. At least you're realizing it's not so bad. And maybe I wouldn't getting you two to bite me again." There was certainly suggestion in that line.

Before she had time to dwell on it much he kept on speaking. "I hadn't really thought of it that way, but you're probably right. He's suppose to be a representative of Sa, but they're really just men with a lot of power." As for the language he nodded easily. "Most people will, there are some words I doubt you'll know, and there are a few other languages there, but this one reached that part of the world some time ago. Just don't talk with anyone who looks too different." Like yourself. "At least until you hear them speak and know. I'll be around anyways to help out."

She touched his shoulder and while he shivered a bit he didn't resist the contact. "I'm glad you like them. I've never been particularly fond. They make it hard to go a lot of places where I'm from. But you aren't cursed, and I'm not as bad off as I could be. I don't know about spirits being involved, though. I haven't seen any proof of it."

"Um..." He didn't really know what else to tell her beyond what she was already asking, he glanced away to the side as he considered, but nothing significant came to mind just yet. "Whatever we can get. Hunting and foraging, and then trading for the rest with people elsewhere. The river's good for that, at least." And there were a lot of animals that had managed to adapt that he sent her images of, including a myriad of colorful birds and strange plants just as bright. "The trees there are massive, and the bark resists the water. So we build in them. Buildings near the trunks and lower to the ground are always sturdier and more stable, but the higher up you go the more they sway with the branches. The topmost homes are called birdcages and swing a lot in the wind. Everyone catches rainwater for drinking and bathing too. They don't call it the Rain Wilds for nothing."

"What's your favorite color, Wolf Star?" It came out of nowhere, but his eyes had glanced down at the shirt again and he was considering the fact he'd never seen her in anything that wasn't either plain leather or one of his pieces of clothing. And he had no idea about something that simple.

[Dulcie]

She seemed pleased even to get that moment of eye rolling from him. Her poor attempt at a joke was worth it in the end it seemed because it got some sort of reaction. It was similar to some of the reactions that she saw other people get when they made jokes, and she was satisfied with it.

She listened when he discussed the sacrifices of his people to their gods, nodding her head at the right moment, though when he started to talk about how the children learned to swim he'd sense a feeling of combined horror from the woman and her wolf as she looked back at him. "Do the young not sink? How do their parents save them? Is this how you learned?" So many questions all at once and she shivered a little at the thought of it. "That is much danger for a youngling. Our young learn danger slowly. They hunt weak creatures while they are little and weak." She'd be busy then thinking about children splashing about in the water helplessly while their parents swam about trying to scoop them up and trying to teach them how to swim in the midst of their panic. She shuddered again at the thought of it.

She likely would have continued the question and her brooding on the cruel teachings of swimming to the Rain Wilder youth if it hadn't been for the fact that he started speaking again about the water. She'd seem amused when he wiped at his face with a wet hand, though his last statement got a curious look from her, her head cocked to the side in the way that she so often did when she was trying to figure something out, her eyes narrowed just a touch as she tried to read his expression, a feature she so rarely got to see except when they were out alone like this. "I am trying to think of what is sense making. You would not try to drown me." She let his last comment go about the biting. She wasn't sure how to respond to it, or exactly what he meant behind it and then he was already moving on to talk about something else. The comment lingered there in her mind however, something that she was thinking on.

She couldn't help but to laugh a little at his comment about not speaking to anyone who looked different and she'd give him a bit of a look at that. "I have been many places I could not speak their tongues. There are different ways when learning. It was your family I am hoping speaks this tongue."

He'd talk about the scales and his lack of fondness for them, and the way he wasn't sure about the spirits involvement. She'd shake her head, not as vigorously as before, but even the simple movement of negation made some of those drips of water spatter near him and cause little ripples in the water. "The spirits are in everything. I do not know the stories of your people but I am sure they have touched your lands and your hearts." She'd move then to try to touch her hand lightly over where she assumed his heart would be if it was similar to the human anatomy. "They are not for our eyes to see. It is why we have spirit leaders, to help us hear." It was perhaps one of the few times she let show just how deeply her own beliefs were rooted.

When he started to tell her about the food and the lifestyle she'd perk up a little as if an idea just occured to her. "Fish?" She'd ask hopefully, anticipating that with water all around and many sea traders that fish might be a common source of food for his people. She'd accept the images that he offered her of the colorful birds and strange plants and he'd likely feel a stirring from the wolf, a desire to hunt what hadn't been hunted, that feeling connected most strongly when he projected the images of the colorful birds. "Your home is high in the trees? Or near ground?" A worthwhile question as it was something she could prepare herself for.

His question caught her off guard a little and she'd look back at him from where her gaze had drifted off to, and though she gave him a curious look of wondering, finding the question in itself strange, she'd still reply to him without hesitation. "Blue." She'd say simply, and she'd let him see why, opening her thoughts to a memory of him on the day she had named him, the brilliants blues of his clothing catching and rippling in the breeze much in the same way that the water of the ocean might have moved.

[Suede]

It did not seem quite far that she could turn him red and embarrass him with so little effort, and then hot have the decency to understand the attempt he'd just made to do the same to her. It really made the game much harder for him to win. He sent her a flicker of an image that ought to get the point across about biting and get a reaction out of her amidst their discussion.

She was shuddering over images of kids panicked in the water and then he really started laughing that deeper chuckle of his and reached over to pat her on the shoulder. "Wolf Star, I learned the same way you're learning. They're perfectly safe, and you don't just throw them in and hope they figure it out." He snorted, his father did suggest that on more than one occasion as a way to hasten their figuring out the basics. He gave her shoulder a small shake before releasing his hand. "We also don't carry around the weight of a wolf inside us, remember? So it's easier for us."

"No, I wouldn't try to drown you, but the water isn't going to try either. It just is. You just need to know how to get around in it, even if it's just the shallow parts." Such as they were in now. And his face was surprisingly expressive. That might be one of the reasons he hid it so much, since giving away what he thought when working would not be in his best interest. Even without the connection they had thrumming between them with the skill at the moment she'd probably be able to tell what he was thinking just by the look on his face. At the moment the small smile and bright eyes gave away his amusement at just how she pictured swimming lessons.

"You'll be fine with them, they all know it. They might try and pick up some of your words." Something he realized he hadn't really done much of in their time together, and he felt suddenly bad about that fact. "I should do the same thing."

Kals didn't entirely agree with her on that. It seemed unlikely that spirits were quite so prevalent, though Kacela was proof enough that they were certainly abound. And he didn't doubt that things were out there controlling the flow of the world and generally being deific, but he didn't think they'd had much to do with how his people had become what they were. That was decidedly the act of the dragons. "There were people like us before, to some degree, dragon friends. People thought they were ghosts and spirits for a long time, but what we were seeing were their memories come to life from massive stones like the small one I gave you. They've stored their entire lives in some of their buildings." It was hard to describe without seeing. She touched him and she'd like as not feel his heartbeat under her hand as he sucked in a breath.

"Uh... a lot of fish, yes. We catch everything we can from the river and trees. What we can't get, some types of fish, land animals, sea mammals that are further out on the water, we trade for." Her wolf's reaction to the birds gave him a bit of a dubious response. he knew how effective they were at hunting, but he thought they were in for a shock when they saw the swampy land they'd be going to. They'd have fun just learning to run down some of the land animals without tripping over roots. He'd be interested to watch and see how they did. "You'll probably need to do a lot of bow hunting there if you want to try. And there'll be competition."

"Towards the ground. Not at the very bottom, but far enough down that you won't even be able to tell your in a tree when you're inside. My family's one of the older ones, and we have more money, so we were able to get one of the nicer areas to stay." And the city did expand with regularity, opening up new large trunks for people to try and claim spots on. Sometimes the forest shrank if a tree lost bark and the river ate it away.

He seemed quite pleased with all her interest and puffed up slightly between describing his family's success and her image of him and why it mattered in her choice of favorite color. "Well that's good to know, I'll have to get you an outfit in that color for any bigger family get togethers. And you'd like the ocean then, since it's blue." He gave her another smile and then turned to look back towards the forest. "I guess I like amber a bit myself. A few shades of brown are fairly nice, too."

[Dulcie]

She'd see the image of what he had meant when he was talking about the biting and heat would fill her cheeks for the moment. It was a difficult reaction to actually see given the color of her skin, but he could surely feel the emotion of embarrassment at it and she'd glance at him a bit as if she was trying to figure out what could be said to that. There was nothing and she'd try to recover by following his change of topic, though he could tell her thoughts continued to be somewhat distracted, something that embarrassed her further.

His laughter surprised her, at least giving an easy out from her embarrassment as she gave him a puzzled expression, trying to figure out why it was funny until he corrected her perception on the matter and assured her that the children weren't just thrown out into the ocean. She finally smiled, seeing his smile. "Yes, you are not so heavy. And this water is not so bad. Small and quiet." She'd look at the water again, this time wiggling her toes a bit and watching the reaction. Then as if an idea occurred to her she'd look back up at him with her curious expression. "What are you afraid of?" He knew about her fears of water obviously, and the effects that jewelry had on her, but she knew very little about what would cause him terror.

When he commented about learning her language she would shake her head at that first sense of emotion she got from him. "It is not for worries. You did more good than learning my words. You gave me a different way to speak to you. It helped with my learning, and you did not see me as a beast." She remembered how good it felt to be understood by someone that first time he had bridged that connection with her, and how nice it had been to be able to communicate articulately.

Her hand would rest there on his chest for a moment longer, listening to his explanation of beliefs and the magic box he had showed her before and while her faith was unwavering she didn't comment over the spirits again. She knew what she thought and that was enough for her. Besides, there was talk of fish then and she was already letting her mind drift to thoughts about dinner. A place with a lot of fish seemed promising after all. "Competition?" A new word this one, and she'd pause and try to puzzle it out a little first before he'd start explaining it. "I am a very good hunter. I could hunt a bird." She sounded confident then, the wolf clearly pleased with this declaration. "I will bring my bow when I travel with you?" This time it was a curious question, unsure of the etiquette for bringing a piece of weaponry through on the journey.

He'd comment about clothing and she'd smile a little at his plans, "No dresses!" She'd exclaim, grinning then because she knew that he wouldn't have that in mind for her. "Colors were hard for my people to make. Very hard work to make them for clothing. They are for special things." A special family gathering might qualify she decided, and at his declaration about his favorite colors she'd smile and it was obvious that the wolf was pleased as well.

[Suede]

Ah, now that was more the response the trader had been aiming for when he'd made the comment. His prior laughter came back again when she continued to be stuck on the idea and she'd be able to get his strong sense of victory in that regard. Kals felt pretty confident he'd won the round and there was little she could do about it while they were in the water. He'd had no intention of getting a response from her, so he was glad the effort had been as effective as it had been.

"Right, small and quiet. You stare near shores and let kids get used to water first, then you can teach them how to swim one step at a time." She wiggled her toes and he shoved his hand through the water through them making a nice little wave in the water in response. "It's really just a lot of splashing at first while you keep their heads above water. You're heavier, but you don't tend to splash around as much so far." When she asked about his fears he wasn't entirely keen to respond at first, and he gave her a look from the corner of his eye and a little suggestion that he thought she was just trying to figure out what she and the wolf could make him do later in response for all this.

He'd sigh and answer after a moment, anyways. "I don't like being underground or in really small spaces. I have to sometimes for family work, but I hate it and don't go too far. I let other people deal with it." He made a small face at the idea of having to go into a cave or a bit of ruins back in the wilds. "I also worry about losing control of my skilling and now getting dragged back in fast enough."

He took her consolations well and definitely felt better about not learning anything about her language. "Still, I think I cheated a bit and skipped the entire language barrier instead of really trying to learn about it." The idea of her being a beast amused him, and he wasn't really sure why anyone could picture her that way. "You're anything but. It's not as if you come wandering into buildings covered in a dirt, growling and foaming at the mouth. Half the people in this town act more like beasts on their best days. You just have a wild side." He'd enjoy the communication as well because it had made it easier to talk with her instead of always working through her accent and attempts at new words.

He wasn't likely to change his opinion on spirits anytime soon, he was pretty set on being more practical about the whole affair, though she'd know he was at least keeping her comments in mind to consider later when there weren't more important things on his mind. He grinned despite the removal of her hand when she began asserting her prowess at hunting. "Other people hunting for the city. And you can bring your bow, or you could learn to fish with a pole if you wanted some of the fish there. But... we'd have to go out to the river there most likely, since nothing will be near the shoreline. I don't think you'd agree to that." Hunters walked around the town often with their tools of trade on them, he showed her a glimpse of the food section of the market just to let her see it would be okay.

A hand went up in mock surrender when she demanded no dresses and he attempted to look a bit chagrined over being caught red handed. "And here I'd been hoping to sneak one onto you. And we tend to wear colors a lot, but this would be for meeting the family, perhaps. Just something of higher quality than your day to day clothing." Since that tended to be more worn, if not utterly shredded by one of her changes.

[Dulcie]

"I do not splash because I know it is not helping. Younglings do not know this.". She'd say, evaluating his response about the splashing and the water. She'd look back at him when he'd go on to talk about his fears. "You are afraid of caves?". She sounded surprised but not condescending at the revelation. "I can help you be brave." she said with a tone of determination. It was becoming apparent that this was not a matter of winning but a genuine desire to give back what he had given to her. "I stay in caves when I am hunting. It is a good place to sleep and keep things. There is one close I like, I could take you.". She sounded rather excited about the idea.

Of course talk of caves led to talk about hunting and fishing with a pole. The latter sounded promising and she would nod her head enthusiastically at the notion. "I will bring my bow, but I would like to learn this hunting fish with a pole, If the water is not deep and fast.". And maybe it would be and she'd lose that notion, but for now it was something to think about.

His last joke made her laugh, her smile spreading across her features. "That is a joking I am thinking.". She'd say, pleased with herself that she had figured it out. She nodded her head in agreement with the outfit for meeting his family. What he wore was comfortable and she didn't mind that idea. She'd still be grinning over the fact that she had gotten the joke when she'd lift up her hand, inspecting fingertips that had become wrinkled from the water, giving them a curious, studious expression.

[Suede]

"Well eventually they need to splash until they figure out how to actually swim. Practice makes perfect." She asked if he was afraid of caves and he turned half-heartedly defensive on the thought, trying to cross one arm over his chest since he couldn't cross the just them. "Not caves. I've been in caves. Caves where you have to go far in and are really deep... and also small. Those aren't fun." She talks about staying in them and storing things in them when she's not at the Dagger and he frowns. "Aren't they too cold and damp for that? And wouldn't fire smoke just fill it up if you tried to light one?" He wasn't completely resistant to the idea of spelunking, but he wasn't particularly keen on being dragged deep into a cave anymore than she was with the water. It didn't help that he lacked her senses to avoid falling all over himself once he was in. After a minute he cocked his head slightly towards her. "Where's the cave?"

"Bring your bow, we can find poles there, but the water can be pretty deep. We can try fishing but it may just be us sitting around waiting for something to bite that isn't going to." He wouldn't be able to get her onto the river, so the best he could try was walking to one of the edges of town and hope that some unsuspecting fish would wander too near. "The regular fishermen keep themselves busy."

"It's probably a joke, it'd be interesting to see just once, but nothing with frills. I can't imagine you'd know what to do in a dress." He had no idea how his sister managed to walk anywhere lately with her own layers upon layers. He expected to hear about her in Rememdium after overheating or tripping over a skirt one of these days.

Since she seemed amendable to something a bit more upscale to wear he made a mental note to see about getting something made. "I'll need to get your measurements so I can take them to someone. "It wouldn't have to be a perfect fit, but still. "Tailors and seamstresses get uppity about that sort of things." His eyes followed her's down where she'd wrinkled and he reached out a hand to rub his thumb over them. "You're pruning, means we should probably get out. We've been in the water a while." And he shifted his weight some to begin standing up, going slowly and trying to use her grip on his arm to take her along. Based on how she sat down earlier he was going to make sure she didn't just topple over by being afraid to put her feet down.

[Dulcie]

She shrugged slightly at his questions about the caves. "There is leathers to keep the water out. Like the one I gave to Eyes of Deep Water. And I do not need fires." She paused to think about that for a moment realizing that he would likely need one. "There is furs there. I could build a fire near it." She smiled a little seeing him cock his head when he asked about where the cave was. It was almost like one of her own movements. She'd point with her hand in the direction of a cave that wasn't all that far off. "Not a far walk. Do you want to see it? You can be brave." She seemed pleased with the fact that she could help him with his small fear.

She nodded to the details about what she'd need to bring for her journey, pausing only briefly to comment about the dress. "You will see me in a dress one time." She seemed serious about it too, as if this was something already pre-determined rather than as a maybe someday it might happen sort of thing. She left it at that however, giving him a puzzled look about the measurements until he explained something about the fit. "I do not know this measurements. I could give you clothes of mine to show your... people." It was too many words to remember them all even if she did understand the context. Terms for making clothing and the people that did it weren't exactly in her day to day vocabulary.

She wondered a little about what pruning actually meant, but getting out of the water seemed like a good idea. She'd hold tight to his arm, being just about as determined in her movements as she had been sitting down, her feet carefully brushing over each rock and stone to be sure that she'd have strong ground beneath her before she stood up, more than eager to make the next few steps up to the dry bank where she'd give her whole upper body a bit of a shake trying to shake loose the water from her hair and the shirt.

[Suede]

It took him a lot to resist laughing at her efforts to get back out of the water, but he managed admirably until she was safely on shore. She shook off like a dog, and he was still caught in her grasp at the time and suffered an additional shower of water for her efforts. He frowned lightly and gave her a mock look of annoyance at her spraying him. The only thing significantly wet on him were his pants, so he didn't make the same effort as her, instead settling on just dripping dry on the shore. Though he was picking up a few of her habits, shaking himself dry didn't appear to be one of them.

"I don't have a lot of leathers, and I can't see in the dark without a fire... also I'd get cold." He grumped half-heartedly and considered dropping to the shore to shake out his boots, but decided it wasn't worth the effort now if the cave was as close as she claimed. He let out a defeated sigh when she mentioned being able to make a fire and there being furs. "Alright, it's late, we can stay there tonight. But we're going to have to find some food, too." He'd work his way free of her hand now that they were on the shore, give it a quick squeeze, and then march off a few feet to claim his discarded gloves and veil from where he'd abandoned them.

He glanced off in the direction she pointed and nodded to himself, though he saw nothing, before looking back at her with a curious glance. "I will, will I? When will that be?" She was so resolute he had to ask when she failed to elaborate. "And you won't get the same opportunity with me." Though he wore robes sometimes, no dresses on would appear on his part. When she offered to let him take some of her clothing if he wanted something made he just waved the suggestion off. "Measurements are the size of your body. Arms, legs, waist, chest, so that clothing is the right size for you. I'll take them from you later if you want. I'll just make sure it's nothing form fitting in case I get them wrong." She faltered on the word for textile craftsmen and he filled it in for her. "Tailors and seamstresses. Men and women."

[Dulcie]

He'd give her the mock grumpy look, but she'd just look pleased with the results of her actions. She released his hand as he moved to free his from her grip, stretching her own fingers out for a moment or two, the joints stiff from having been held in virtually the same position for so long. When he started grumbling about her plans for the cave it was all she could do to withhold her amusement this time, something that crept through in only the hint of her smile.

"It is already done Ocean Walker. There is food and furs and I will make you a fire." There were no excuses to be had apparently. As he collected veil and gloves she'd collect the pants and tunic she had abandoned in the tree, holding them loose in her hand so as not to get them wet by holding them close. When they both had collected their articles of clothing she'd motion for him to walk with her in the direction that she had indicated earlier.

He asked about the dress and she smiled slightly, giving him a bit of a mischievious look. "You will see when. It will be a surprising." Though his bit about her not being able to get him to wear a dress made her laugh, her brown eyes rich with amusement. "You would not be right in a dress." She'd say with another bit of a laugh, clearly imagining what he would look like in one of Rhaena's get ups, only finally letting her mind return back to the conversation at hand once he starts describing what measurements are. "So many words for simple things. Yes you can get the mea-sure-mints." She'd say with a nod of her head. It was a big word, alot to manage at once. "I will give you trust to choose good."

[Suede]

"Oh." He had half-hoped that the cave would just be one she knew of, not one she kept prepared for use. That really did destroy the majority of his arguments, and while she was grinning over the fact he was scuffling his feet in defeat for the first few steps in her direction. He wouldn't pout long before picking up the pace and falling into place beside her as she guided them along. "Aren't you worried someone else might come along and find all your supplies? They might take them." If fact, knowing this town they'd take everything they wanted and defecate on the rest as a way of saying thank you.

Kals stuffed the smaller accessories he was holding into his pockets and reached to take Kacela's spare clothing from her, since it was the proper thing to do, and his torso was already about dry between the sun and the fact he hadn't dunked the majority of it underwater.

"A surprise, huh? Well now I'm looking forward to it." She laughed at him in a dress, and he returned the sly look she was giving him with one of his own. "However, I guarantee that me in a dress would be even more surprising. Just so you know." Truth be told he had seen her in a dress a few times when she'd worn that necklace Glenn had cooked up, but he wasn't counting those instances. And it had just been... wrong to see her that way.

"That may be misplaced trust, but we'll see what happens. And we like to hear ourselves talk, so we use a lot of words."

[Dulcie]

She didn't take long to consider what he had to say about people taking her supplies, responding shortly after he finished asking his question. "I have other places I keep things. If they are needing what I have then they can have it. Food and clothing all people need." It was along the lines of how she had explained earlier that her people simply helped one another without currency or elaborate trade.

She'd let him take her spare clothing from her considering he was more dry than she was, the overly large sleeves of the shirt she was wearing hanging down almost past her hands and dripping all over the forest floor. She'd frown at them for a minute before taking a few seconds to roll up the sleeves closer to her elbow so that she didn't have to deal with them hanging all over the place.

She'd start leading the way to the cave, grinning a little at the idea of Kals in a dress being a surprise. "This is a surprising you are planning?" She'd say, glancing back at him with a grin. She could only imagine how hard that would make her laugh. He'd suggest that her trust had been misplaced and she'd shake her head, her wet braids moving and dripping with the motion. "It would not be wrong to trust you. Clothing is not as dangerous as water."

And with that she'd lead him off through the forest where the cave she kept for just these sorts of occassions. Fortunately for Kals she'd be good to her word, with all of her supplies near the entrance so he wouldn't haver to travel deep into it's depths. It was a comfortable place to spend the night, quiet and with a good view of the stars from it's entrance.