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Waylaid as they were by the storm, Morain and Kani finally made it onto a ship headed for Yael, their choice on a destination made. With news from Siel and Lutana, he'd been told his parents were moving to Belrea for a short time to help Ygraine take care of her youngest kids - and so they'd gotten on the ship and headed for the Belrean city of Talrise.

He hadn't accounted for the city to be so... exciting! A major hub of imports from Yael, Matori, and Kahikina, Talrise had a flourishing market and industry of goods sprawling out from the port - and it would be such a shame to pass on exploring it.

He got a decently priced room for them at a port-side inn, making no indication to Kani that they would go exploring the bustle; everything they'd discussed before pointed to them hustling north to Zenner where his family lived.

Morain had absolutely no intention of rushing Kani through any of their journey. It was morning, and he woke Kani with a flurry of kisses to her cheeks; he was fully dressed, hair styled and makeup and jewelry in place, excited. He'd managed to get quite a few tips from the tavern keeper on places of interest, and was excited to show them off to his lover. "Good morning beautiful! I have a surprise for you today!" Morain sang to her, continued to chase her Matori speckles with kisses.

(2/10)

"Oh could y--" Morain started to tease, only to giggle into her lips as a kiss was stolen. In the past, watching a lover strip their clothes would have been inherently sexual (and it still had a good bit of that, lets be honest) - but it was also so comfortably domestic that while Morain paused to watch and enjoy the view, he also dug helpfully through her bag to recover a fresh set of clothing to pass to her. Once she was dressed he brushed her hair forward over one shoulder so he could clasp her necklace into place, kissing the back of her neck cheekily before finally pulling away.

"Ahh! My beautiful love will surely steal all the hearts today." Morain praised, admiring her for a long moment before he shook himself playfully back into focus. "Yes, well - first off... we can leave our things here today as I've reserved this room for tonight. I thought we could go... explore, and share an early lunch together?"

(3/10)

Her gentle, excited reactions encouraged Morain and made him puff up happily, preening. "Of course! It's all about the journey, love, not just the destination!" Grasping her hand, Morain led Kani out of their room, pausing to use the key provided by the innkeeper to lock it up before they left. Outside, the vista was as beautiful as the day before when they'd disembarked the ship; the ocean to the west and south glittered in the morning sun, and they were high up enough to see fields sweeping to the north, lush with crops.

But the rest of the city was packed with buildings, similar in some ways to the thick bustle of Oba but without the oppressive stretch of buildings skyward. Instead of streets lined with carts, here the streets spilled into large, opulent marketplaces - with storefronts spilling their wares outside the doors with brightly decorated and painted signs.

Travelers, who had come by ship, also set up the occasional cart on the periphery of the markets for their imported wares, but most had local shops to present their goods through. They had to pass through a small section of Matori-imported fish, their dull eyes gawking from where they were preserved on beds of ice magic, before they found the place the innkeeper had told Morain of - a small eatery, tucked up a small set of stone steps into the side of a building on a patio that overlooked the market.

Morain picked a table, with creeping ivy that grew on a trellis that arched over the table, and pulled out a chair for Kani, kissing the top of her head once she sat, before scrambling to take his own seat. "I heard about this place last night, and knew we had to go see it." He admitted, once they were seated, beaming at Kani like a familiar waiting for praise after performing a trick.

(4/10)

Morain briefly used his hands to gesture a 'ta-dah!' motion, fingers wiggling, before Kani caught them and gave them a squeeze. "Not at all! We could stay here as long as we want to." Well - maybe not in the inn, not unless they decided to pick up some work. But that could easily be arranged, if Kani found herself enjoying it here. Soon after, a half-asleep prentice floated to their table with a tray, depositing a cup of soup for each of them, along with a platter of various local treats - boiled eggs with flakes of dried fish shaved on top, a handful of brightly colored fruit with a dollop of yogurt on top, and some rashers of meat. She then thrust out an expectant hand, where Morain paid, then left.

"Apparently this is the sort of place you come to and eat what you're given." He explained, amused. Not that he was complaining - it all looked delicious!

Tucking in, Morain turned to look down into the market, where a small band was playing. At their feet were a small group of younglings, dancing and shouting. When the song ended, they ran to their parents, hands up, then ran to drop coins into a bowl, shouting requests for songs at the band.

Morain propped his cheek in his hand and watched, a fond smile on his face as the next song began and the kids began to dance in earnest.

Food was... a marvel of the world, and one of Morain's favorite things about exploring it. Yogurt itself was a treat, one he was only used to when going through Tale - aldabuck milk, cheese, and yogurt were lean, less fatty than this. The subtle gurgle of Kani's belly made him laugh, brightly, and he rewarded her by tugging a few berries from their stem so he could reach to press them to her lips for her to enjoy.

Kani continued her culinary exploration after, and it was probably for the best that he'd turned away, for the image in combination with her pretty sounds were sure to set his blood on fire. And - as much as he'd embraced the more sensual aspects of their relationship, today he felt besotted and in love and wanted to spoil her to everything that could give him a glimpse of that beautiful, happy smile again.

He idly nibbled on a rasher as he watched, feeling... sentimental. It made him think of Siel's kids, how cool it had felt to hold his brother's babies and see parts of his family in their little faces. Before he knew where his mind was going, he imagined a blue-cheeked child with dark eyes, smiling, and tried to decide whether that smile would be his or Kani's--

Morain blanched and made peep of surprise when Kani leaned into him, though he immediately melted and leaned his weight into her to bump their cheeks together more firmly. "Oh uh-- the band sounds good, but we can hear 'em from here just fine!" He said, brightly, embarrassed but - also flustered by the turn of his own thoughts. "... The kids're cute, that's all. They look like they're having fun." Was that weird? To watch kids enjoying their morning? Or- to be daydreaming about...

(6/10)

Well, she didn't seem put off by it at the very least. Shaking himself he turned back to properly look at her, suppressing a shiver at the tickling touch of her fingertips on his skin. He found himself nodding along, thinking immediately to his siblings. What would it have been like, without Siel and Lutana? Lonely, he thought. He couldn't imagine being born alone - it was already distancing, the age gap between himself and his older (and younger) siblings.

"That's true. Maybe a year or two apart." He said, thoughtfully. Then he blushed when she turned the topic to his parents, because he'd - well. Thought about if they ever had kids - would they have multiples, like his fathers and Siel had?

"W-well - littlest siblings are a few years old-" He rushed to explain, holding her hand as he ducked his head. "So we'd get to uh... to meet them when we find my dads. Casimir and Calliana. They're part of why I left home and- got to meet you?"

(7/10)

Morain felt strangely shy sometimes when she spoke. From him, pet names sometimes felt corny and he sometimes thought she might get tired of them. But then she'd return with one of her own, and he'd melt into mush in her hands. She called him her 'dearest love' without an ounce of embarrassment, and somehow he fell more and more in love with her the more confident she grew. He opened his mouth to say they'd just be happy to play (though maybe Calliana would rather take a bribe, she was a girly girl through and through--) but Kani caught him by pressing a berry to his mouth.

He made a soft, surprised noise, but accepted the treat, his eyes briefly fluttering closed at the burst of sweetness. He had to lift his free hand to his mouth just to make sure he didn't dribble juice down his chin, thumbing it away before it could do more than briefly stain the edge of his mouth. "Do you - want kids?" He blurted out, almost as soon as the berry had been swallowed down.

Then, realizing how it sounded, Morain's eyes went wide and he waved his hand quickly infront of his face. "Not! Not right now - but someday? Maybe someday? Unless you don't - uh."

Scrambling, Morain picked up an egg and cracked its shell on the table, staring intently at it as he rolled it to get the shell loose. "D-does Zoryn like eggs or fruit? We should uh- we should bring some back to the inn for later, right?"

(8/10)

The two must make quite the pair, both horrified and staring at one another over their lavish spread of breakfast goodies. Morain was briefly tempted to fold his arms on the table and bury his head in them, but he resisted, and instead set the cracked and partially unpeeled egg back on the plate, stomach roiling a bit too much to nibble on it just yet.

That was... good. Good, that Zoryn would be fine, but also -- also. He hadn't thought having kids was a big deal to him, but neither had Siel and- and he'd told him about how he'd had a baby scare with a past lover, and how upset he'd been when he ended up not being the father.

There was no way Morain would ever change his mind about Kani, and if she said 'no' then that would be that and he would survive it, even if he found more and more that he would like kids. Kani had only just told him about her trauma in being a caretaker for her family, and the last thing he'd ever ask for was to trap her in that life.

But... he felt relieved, and happy when she said 'some day'. "You'd be such a great mother." Morain said, bringing the topic right back up, even though they'd both given the other an out. "And- you know, my upbringing was... pretty unique. But I think I turned out fine, you know- we'd figure out a way so you never felt--" He trailed off, then laughed breathlessly, reaching to take her hand in his own. "Sorry. Don't know why I thought about it but it's - hard not to think about how we'll have the rest of our lives together, to explore these things together."