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For Sol the hardest part of travel was releasing control of his clinic to another. The healer was young, but well experienced and the son of a healer in a neighboring village. He'd already spent the better part of the last season working directly with Sol so it didn't make sense for him to be this anxious. Or maybe his edgy attitude wasn't solely rooted in anxiety? Despite his blindness Sol did enjoy travel; he'd spent his childhood on the road, after all. Ever since becoming a father his travels had been mainly restricted to visiting family, but even that was something that didn't come frequently. It was always refreshing to experience new sounds, textures and auras...

So, before the winter season truly settled in and Nimia went back to Zidel for her classes Sol proposed a trip. The end goal would be Koril's family home in the south, but along the way they would stop to visit Lutana and Eema in Jauhar. It had been some time since he'd seen his younger sister and longer still since he'd seen the woman who'd birthed him. Everyday they came closer to seeing her he felt his gut twist a little more until the day had finally come and Sol hadn't been able to sleep a wink. Walking on the swaying, rope bridges should have panicked him more than this meeting, but spirits it didn't. He felt each dip, sway and rock, but it was only ever a brief distraction.

"Maybe we shouldn't go. What if she's busy?" Of course by that point they were very nearly halfway there and, unbeknowst to Sol, he'd blocked the path by turning around to where he thought Koril was.

Sol clucked his tongue and would have rolled his eyes if he'd had the pupils to do so. His husband was right, of course, but that didn't make it any easier. He tilted his head down to the warm touching his arm and raised it to where he thought Koril's head might be. Which was admittedly a little off, but detecting auras could only do so much.

"Okay, okay, I'm going." Dutifully the hybrid turned right back around and started to walk once more. The directions he'd been given to find Eema had been given to Koril so despite him being in the lead it was really up to his husband to make sure he didn't walk the wrong way or off the side of a rope bridge.

Getting to Eema's home was fairly easy. She lived in the middle of the settlement in a smaller hut whose exterior was decorated in a plethora of wild flowers and fungi. While Sol couldn't see it's colors he could smell the fragrances and it was that alone that let him know they were there. Hesitantly, Sol walked closer to the door, took a deep breath and knocked. For a moment the muffled voice inside didn't change, but after a second knock, this one a little stronger, they quieted.

Soon enough the door was opened to reveal another Alkidike hybrid. Instead of Sol's more diluted, varied blood hers was very strongly present. Eema was a tall woman with dark, black hair that fell down her back free of dreads and tangles. She may have been mixed with Iceling blood, just the same as Nimueh, but her traits were as varied as his own. The one commonality in it all, however, was the markings that Sol carried upon his own skin stood on hers.

"Sol! My I wasn't expecting company." Her passive expression warmed instantly, and then took a curious edge toward Koril. "And you've brought...?"

"This is Koril, my husband." He reached back to where he thought Koril might be.

"Husband? Well, congratulations and it's a pleasure to meet you, Koril. Please, come in. You must be tired." She stepped back from the doorway to move inside, and called back, "Make yourselves at home. Take a seat in the front room there and I'll be back with drinks."

Having his husband's hand to hold eased Sol's anxiety and took some of the tension out of his shoulders. He gave the man's hand a squeeze as they maneuvered into the home, mindful of any obstacles that might have been in front of Sol before reaching their seats. "Yeah, I guess she's not." He gave a small, little half smile and were his cheeks not so dark naturally his flush may have been more evident. For an outsider, anyway, but to his husband the shifts would have been obvious.

There was a scent about the space that spoke of herbs being warmed somewhere in the home. Though Sol wouldn't be able to see it, many a houseplant resided in Eema's abode, some with vines climbing up the walls and clinging to the ceiling. It had a warm, lived in feel that was more akin to Aishan living than earthling, but inviting never the less.

"Here you are," When she returned Eema carried a tray of glasses and some little fruits as well. They were local, freshly chopped and as sweet as any candy of the north. She sat them on a little table in the middle of the room with a smile before taking a seat of her own. All of the furniture was on the larger side, clearly meant for someone of her frame, with a mix matched feel to the decor. "It's spring water with some fruit juice added to it. I can get you something stronger if you prefer, but I thought this would be more refreshing."

"It's fine, thank you." Sol scooted forward in his chair, and raised his hand out to feel for first the table, then the tray and then his glass before settling back into his seat. "Thank you for having us. I know it's last minute, but we were in the area..." As if he hadn't been planning this all along.

"Oh, It's alright." The wrinkles around Eema's eyes krinkled as she smiled. "I didn't realize until I got older and helped a few more families to grow that keeping in contact wasn't a given. To some it was too awkward or a reminder of what they couldn't have naturally so they just...faded away. " When she looked between the two of them her smile was genuine, if a little tinged in sadness, but warmth overpowered it. "I'm just happy that you stay in touch at all, Sol; I wouldn't have thought bitterly if you or your fathers chose not to."

"I think...if circumstances had been different then we wouldn't be as close as we are." Sol took a long, refreshing drink from his glass and offered a small smile of his own. "You took care of us while they were in Oba, you helped great-grandmother before she passed...And a visit was long overdue." She wasn't a mother, wasn't an Aunt, but more like a close family friend. If they needed her Eema was there, which left both him and Ygraine in a different dynamic than that of his younger siblings and their surrogates.

Still hearing about other families did make Sol's antennae flicker. He'd always wondered if he had other 'siblings', in the blood sense', but now- Just, stop, you don't really want details. And he didn't; truly.

"So," Eema leaned forward to sit her glass on the table. "Is it just the two of you? Or do you have little ones of your own?"

"It wasn't a hard decision," Sol's smile was absolutely beaming and he turned toward Koril's voice. "When they asked if we would a pair of sisters I didn't have a second thought. From the moment I heard about them they were mine and I couldn't imagine raising those girls with anyone else." His daughters were beyond lucky to have Koril as a father. He was the bravest man Sol had ever met, even if that bravery bordered on stupidity at times, and that sense of adventure had passed into the girls. Sol might have become a complete recluse without Koril to drag him out from time to time.

Eema looked between the two with an obvious fondness. It was hard not to smile when that kind of love was present, especially when they talked about their children. "It's always bitter sweet to watch them grow up. You're always proud to see who they're becoming, but the memories keep you wanting to turn back time."

Sol let out a little sigh. "If that's not the truth. I always thought it would be hard for someone with my condition to raise children, but Koril made it easier."

Sol's antennae flicked with surprise at the touch, but soon enough he was reaching for Koril's hand before he could pull away. Even just for a moment he wanted to hold it and have this moment. When he'd first noticed his vision fading Sol was terrified. He locked himself away in Sauti, lied to his family as long as he could and wrote himself off before his story had ever begun. All it took was one man to pull him back into the world.

"It does," Eema nodded with a soft smile. "You do all you can and it's never feels like enough." She looked between the two for a moment before leaning forward in her seat. "Any plans on expanding?"

Her question caught Sol off guard. He should have expected it, knowing Eema and the way the conversation had turned, but a childish part of him didn't want to answer. That kind of information didn't have to be shared and yet...it was Eema. It didn't have to be told, but he didn't mind when it came to her. Hopefully Koril felt the same. "We've discussed it before, but the timing never felt right." If it wasn't something to do with their careers then it was the daily struggles of holding a relationship, home and two children together.

"So your girls have plenty of cousins?" Eema asked with a little chuckle. "Having a large family, whether in your own home or extended is always such a blessed thing. It's why I've always loved doing what I do. I could help in a way that others couldn't." With a contented sort of smile, she sat back into her seat. "Although these days I've committed myself more to helping from a healing standpoint and I help care for foundlings when they come around."

While Sol had also come from a large family, his was spaced out in such a way that he wasn't particularly close to his younger siblings. He cared for them, visited and such, but there was a gap between he, Ygraine and the others. It hadn't bothered him when he was growing up; not until it came up that their daughters may very well go through the same situation.

"I didn't know you ran a children's home."

"Oh, I don't. A friend of mine cares for as many little ones as she can but when they need an extra bed or two I offer my home. In trade areas like this it's all too common for parents to just...leave their little ones behind."

"Oh that sounds lovely, especially since most of your family lives away. It must be hard being away from them."

"Yes, having Jhin and Kyril so close has been nice." Or at least it was when they only had the girls. Four children was enough of a headache to manage when they decided to visit, then four turned to six and six became eight. If it wasn't for Koril's help Sol would have been run over by the children long ago. He liked Koril's family, truly he did, but it was always a little easier when they visited their home instead. Less risk of having things moved where Sol couldn't see, children running off into the northern wilds, etc.

"We do what we can, but it seems as if my hands are never empty for long. The moment we help one to find a home two more takes their place." After a pause, Eema cautiously added, "Perhaps, if you two were to expand your family once more....you would consider adoption again? Not that I'm suggesting anything now, but just as an option."