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It had been a solid two months since Adenah had last seen Dovian. In that time she'd managed to write a few letters to her lover just to make sure he knew she was safe, but that time away made her miss him all the more. The days they got to spend together were becoming fewer and fewer the more she worked, but soon enough the tide would change.

Which was why when she came back into town and heard about this treasure hunting business Adenah thought it would be the perfect excuse for an outing. They wouldn't be around others so they could talk freely and it would be something fun for them to do. "Can you imagine doing this for a living? Just going up and down rivers with a little pan, sifting through mud all day?"

Finding a water source in Oba was hard enough without the added work of looking for rarities among the silt. Adenah's flaming hair was piled high on her head in a loose bun, her skirt knotted at the knee to prevent it from being soaked, and concentration made her eyebrows furrow. "That's exactly why I wanted to do this. If I find something nice then you can make me something nice." She had absolutely no qualms about being bratty with her wants, even after all this time.

"I am, actually." She looked up out of the corner of her eye for a moment before going back to her 'work'. "In three months time the summer solstice will happen and that's when I'm going to make my career change."

Adenah rubbed her hands together before plunging them down into the water. The river itself wasn't any colder than rainwater, but compared to the heat of Oba the shift in temperature was enough to shock her. She cursed and gave in to a full body shiver before going about her search.

"You do, but you can't make them without material and that gets expensive." And they both knew where most of Adenah's earnings went; weapons and things for the children. Most of her 'motherly duties' had been stripped from her because of Grunt and she'd be damned if that stopped her from at least supporting them. As far as weapons were concerned the ones that Dovian made for her were as sturdy as they were gorgeous, but sometimes she needed cheap blades to leave at the scene which meant excess coin...

"There is a drawback, though." She crouched a little, carefully tucking her skirt between her thighs in a vain attempt to keep it from getting wet. "I'm going to be gone for a while and I won't be able to contact anyone while I'm gone."

While she hadn't planned on getting this deep into muck in their little outing Adenah surely wasn't going home empty handed. After sifting through the top layer the hybrid started digging deeper and deeper with the hope that the river had brushed loose silt over the true treasures.

"I always do." Even with her pan half full of muck, she turned to look at him earnestly. She didn't like being away from her family anymore than he liked having her gone, but Adenah didn't have a choice. If she wanted to keep her kids hidden she couldn't break rank. "And when I get back I want to get married and get a place together."

If she were being honest Adenah wasn't sure she even would come back, but she knew bringing it up would only start an argument. Still, she was so tired of not being able to act like an actual mother that it killed her. Even if he didn't want to get married or live together she wanted to be able to actually say her children were hers without having someone hunt them for it.

"Oh, oh!" As the water washed over her pan, Adenah gave it a few good shakes and lifted up a nice, shiny stone. It was some sort of gemstone and even if she couldn't recognize it the fact she'd found something brought a smile to her face.

Adenah couldn't help the little snort of a laugh that slipped out. "I kind of did, didn't I? Would you prefer I wait and have a big dinner with our families?" Should she have at least talked to his parents? Honestly, she assumed they were well past that at this point. He was a grown man with two children by her of all people so surely it was alright.

"Do you think you could jump up and down a little? Maybe even clap your hands and tear up?" She was full on grinning at that point. Still, the just knowing he'd agreed to marry her filled Adenah's heart. All she had to do was make it back safe and they'd be set.

"Instead of a wedding what do you think of just the after party? A nice dinner, some dancing; just a chance to celebrate and let our families spend some time with each other?"

"How else will I know you love me?" She dramatically placed a wet hand on her chest and almost gasped until her face quickly morphed into disgust when Adenah realized she'd put mud on herself. With a half gag, she washed her hand off and started to clean up. "Oh gods, gross..." Just so she wouldn't lose the stone she slipped it into her top and sat her sifting pan aside.

"Of course I'm wearing a wedding dress. You think I'd pass that up? Pfft." Adenah blew a raspberry and rolled her eyes. "We're having the whole experience. I'm taking Thea, Siofra, Zasha, your mother if she wants to come, maybe my mom...who knows but we'll have a big day of it." It sounded amazing and so utterly stress relieving that it was easy to forget everything else going on.

"She's the closest thing I have to a friend and she's raising-" Stopping herself, Adenah scrunched up her nose. "-some great kids so I'd like her input. Plus, if we make a little trip out of it then we can let loose." And really tear some poor pub to the ground. After the teenagers had gone to bed, of course.

Adenah dug around in her top and held out her own stone. "We could make rings out of them. Nothing with a gem on top, but just a smooth ring made out of gems instead of gold. What do you think?"