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"My leg is okay I just had a moment." She replied quietly before tucking back a stray strand of hair. The actual use of her nickname by Jolanta had caught the Matori even further off guard and she felt like the back of her neck could cook a Xaraan's egg at this rate, it was so flushed, "I uh...yeah." Coughing Nadiya shook the basket towards him once more and smiled as he reached for the food, "Well that's your loss then since Matori and Oba have the best wines in the continent."

At least he had taken some food - that was one less worry for Nadiya. Not that she should be required to feed him, but in a way it made her feel as if he had taken a peace offering? Well in a sense it could be considered a pre-apology for the actuality of the situation he was being led into. The Matori shook her head slightly before popping some of the food in her own mouth, "Since we'll be on the main road I doubt that there will be much trouble this time. And we will be travelling quickly..." She paused and spun around on her heel, "Now where..." The girl pursed her lips and let out a series of sharp whistles.

In the distance sand swirled up as powerful legs pushed against the ground in a race. Accustomed to such displays Nadiya set down her basket and held out both hands so that one of the blurs, a deep indigo with marks of blue and green, could halt right in front of her face. As the loser, an olive green Xaraan with golden markings, slowly came to a stop next to Nadiya the girl laughed, "Really you two?" She rubbed both of the Xaraans' necks lovingly, "Tei won this time so you better run faster next time Teo." After petting them for a moment more the Matori grinned towards Jolanta, "Have you ever rode a Xaraan before?" Because if not then he was about to find out what it was like.

"Mmm, well I won't drink any right now. Later though." She would definitely be needing a few strong drinks later and maybe as the evening progressed so would he. Nadiya chuckled softly under her breath before focusing on her Xaraan, "Don't worry, Xaraan are quick creatures so I doubt that many could keep up easily." She pet the indigo one's head once more, "And as for riding well...good luck."

The girl whistled again and reached a hand out for Teo, whose amber gaze sought out the stranger's and the creature tilted its head as it studied Jolanta, "You can ride Teo since he's the calmer one, both belong to my family and I thought that riding would be easier than walking the entire way." She rubbed the creature's beak one last time before walking it over towards Jolanta, "All you have to do is mount it and sit on the soft saddle. Teo knows the way home so he really doesn't need much direction and I can lead on Tei. Sound good?" She smiled as she glanced towards Jolanta, "Or if you prefer you can ride behind me on Tei since there's room for two."The other Xaraan seemingly peered over Nadiya's shoulder as she teased the Yaeli.

She just hoped that there would be no freak storms or anything else to hinder their progress. Getting to that event and getting it over with would be a blessing. Go there, show off man, and then get out. How hard could it be? And by then she could say her farewells, kiss a few cheeks in goodbye, and then flee for the hills. Or in this case flee for Oba and possibly Belrea again. Then perhaps when time had passed she could return home with tales of how her....lover? and she had travelled and seen so much...or better yet maybe her family would just give up on her and she could drop all charades. Yeah right. A small bemused smile flickered across her expression before she shook her head and studied Jolanta more, "So what do you think? Would riding a Xaraan solo be too difficult a task for you?"

Nadiya's lips quirked upwards with wry amusement, "I suppose if you're worried about looking masculine then I could sit behind you and latch onto you for support if we shared a Xaraan." Anyone looking could think that he was the one with experience and was keeping her safe as they rode. Though while it was a delightful thought to be able to fluster Jolanta with more teasing Nadiya realized that for the ease of their trip it would be best to ride separately. Another time then. She thought as her gaze gleamed with slight mischievousness.

"Certainly." Nadiya blinked as she realized that this man probably was at a loss. Was riding a Xaraan such a strange thing? Then again he wasn't from Oba or Matori - he was from that strange foreign land across the Great Ocean after all. Striding forward so that she could stand next to Jolanta the Matori smirked, "I can do even better and tell you a bit before mounting my beast. So if ya don't mind just let me do this..." Her blue hands reached out so that she could grab one of his and slowly, ever so slowly, she brought his fingers up towards Teo's beak, "First you gotta introduce yourself to him. It builds respect to meet his gaze in greeting and then once he's gotten a feel for you like this." She smiled as the Xaraan clicked his beak towards Jolanta, "You can run a hand along his neck..." Still holding onto the Yaeli's hand Nadiya gently moved his fingers down the sleek neck of the beast until the reins connected with his hand, "These reigns are mostly for decor since you use your knees more than anything to direct him. So you can grab them but mostly you just need to get into the saddle." Closing Jolanta's fingers around the reins Nadiya let go of his hand and then clicked her tongue against her mouth. In response to the familiar noise and motions the Xaraan shifted so that it was crouched and waiting on Jolanta.

"Now he's waiting on you to mount so just swing a leg over and settle on the saddle - it's cloth so it's softer and more delicate than most hard leather pieces so just be careful riding." Nadiya reached out for her own Xaraan and following a similar pattern to how she had moved Jolanta's hands along the creature's neck the Matori quickly hopped onto the crouching Xaraan and settled into her own saddle, "Hopefully that helps. Once you're up we can begin moving forward by just giving a bit of pressure with your knees. Honestly once I get in front Teo will just follow me and Tei since he's accustomed to taking this path home."

Her lips curved up into a small, bemused smile at his reaction. Just a little flustered are we? She was glad that he was very reserved because gods knew if the tables were turned it would be her flushing beneath his silver gaze, "True, true. Then riding separately it is then." As he settled onto the other Xaraan Nadiya was mounting hers. As she wiggled into place on the saddle she nudged Tei forward with her knees so that the beast walked up to the Jolanta and Teo, "Think so?" She teased lightly as she studied him, "Just make sure you have a good grip, wrap your arms around his neck lightly if you need though the saddle has a piece at the front you can grab onto as well..."

She gestured forward, "It's usually a day or so if you walk but with the Xaraan we can make it by evening when the event is." Nadiya grinned towards him, that familiar gleam of mischievousness in her amber gaze, "Just hold on, okay?" With that she nudged Tei forward and let out a sharp whistle, "Teo follow!" That stated the Matori leaned forward so that she was almost laying on the Xaraan with her arms wrapped around the neck, her fingers curled tightly around the reins. If she closed her eyes it was almost as if she was flying, something especially true as both Xaraan picked up speed and began racing each other down the well worn path. The cliffs blurred behind them and a storm of sand trailed their movement as they darted forward. It was definitely an experience to be on what Nadiya could consider the fastest mounts of their region. Even a Janarim or a Quhar couldn't keep pace with how quickly the Xaraan's long legs stretched forward. Up and down, a little veering to the left to avoid some loose rocks, another swaying motion and she was soon following along with the bouncing rhythm of the beast carrying her.

I hope Jolanta is faring well. She giggled, the soft notes swept away in the sea breeze, "Having fun yet?" She called back behind her before daring to rise up just a bit to take a peek towards her companion.

"It's fashionable to be a little late~" She replied with an impish wink, "It'll be fine." She had faith in her Xaraan to get there quickly. Both may be a bit more exhausted than usual but she could make up for it with a good grooming in the morning and some evening treats tonight. Not like it seemed that either minded it since they enjoyed racing. Ahren was too lame with the Xaraan and often just had them walking at a slower pace, leaving racing only for the most dire of situations.

Nadiya couldn't help letting out a silvery laugh at Jolanta's response, "I suppose that works." She commented lightly as they continued moving along. For the rest of the ride she was surprisingly quiet as she simply focused on enjoying the scenery of the ocean and cliffs as they passed through. Even though Belrea had an ocean of its own there was just something about being home. Despite her differences with her family members the Matori woman was still enamored by her homeland. The way the ocean crashed into the cliffs, the way the sunlight shimmered over the deep waters and just everything about the ocean drew her to it. Nadiya closed her eyes tightly. Don't think about it. She was going to leave after this but at least she could enjoy things while she was here. It at least gave her something to look forward to when she took breaks from adventuring and gathering stories. Who could deny the comforts of a home like this after all?

Ah, speaking of home...Nadiya tugged lightly on her reins as the sun finally started to lower in the skies. It was still early, nfiot dark just yet, and she was thankful for that. As she dismounted Nadiya brushed her skirts and watched as the other Xaraan slowed down his steps to crouch near her for his own rider to dismount, "Hopefully that wasn't too awful." She smiled as she attempted to tame the wild curls of her windblown hair with her fingers, "We're a few minutes away from my home so I thought we could stop here and try to prepare ourselves? I can get us in the back and we can sneak into my room to clean up and to change...." She sheepishly smiled towards Jolanta, "If you don't have spare clothing then I may have picked up some extra clothing earlier today." Nadiya bit her bottom lip as if pondering something before shaking her head, "And then we can join the crowds and eat and relax for the night. Hopefully no one dares to do anything since you'll be with me as well."

Nadiya couldn't help how her gaze traveled over Jolanta as he stretched. Stoooop. She commanded her gaze as she realized that she was staring and the girl glanced away quickly, "That's good then. I know it's not the best thing to ask you to do since you're recovering and all but it seems you're holding up well." If this hadn't been sprung on her so quickly she would have given him more time to adjust and taken their time travelling, but fate wasn't so nice to them now was it? At least if you wanted to even call it fate at this point since Nadiya wasn't certain which gods watched over them. Perhaps it was his Yaeli gods who wished to meddle in their lives or was it her Matori gods? Or was there a god that had taken a liking to her during her travels to bless her with...trouble. Nadiya pinched the bridge of her nose to halt the rambling of her thoughts before focusing again on Jolanta's comment, "A bit inappropriate?" She replied as she turned to study him with her head tilted in confusion, "It's not like I'll be undressing you...unless you need help with being dressed or like the idea of me doing such a thing?" Her lips slowly curved upwards into her trademark impish grin, "If you would like then perhaps I could be convinced to help you change clothing if you helped me out in turn."

She waited for the familiar flush before shrugging her shoulders lightly, "But if that's not the case then I was simply meaning we could change in my quarters - I have a changing screen I could hide behind or I could even go into a room connected to mine so we aren't in the same place." At his question she turned and nodded, "I felt it wasn't fair to ask you to do all of this in one day and I wasn't certain if you had enough spare clothing so I bought some clothing for you just in case. It's not a big deal since the cloth merchant had some orders for my brother so she gave them to me fairly cheap." Nadiya smiled, "Consider it a bonus for all the trouble?"

Nadiya rose a brow as amusement made her amber gaze dance with light, "Shame." She said plainly as she brushed past him, ever so dangerously close, "That is I mean it would save time if we worked together. If you were thinking of some other awreason for helping each other undress then you sir have a dirty mind~" She grinned as she reached to unhook her satchel from her Xaraan's saddle, "As it is we really will be late to this affair if we linger any longer."

"Let's go and drop off the Xaraan now and then we can figure out your sword. Worst case I know a side entrance to the floors they'll be hosting the party on and we can enter through there." There was a chest of drawers in that entry way that he could perch his sword behind or even hide behind some drapery. As she moved forward and led the Xaraan towards their stables the Matori found herself peeking towards Jolanta. Hopefully he'll still talk to me once the night is over with. How long did they even have to be at the event? A few minutes, maybe an hour at the worse? She would just have to keep him moving to keep her family from getting too close to question him. The Matori closed her eyes briefly against the worries that were swelling up into a nervous ball of energy inside of her chest.

Focus, Nadiya. Everything would be okay, it simply had to be.

Her gaze gleamed with amusement before she nodded her head, "Repeat it as much as you need." She replied lightly as she glanced back towards him and flicked her hair over her shoulder, "It's something I need to get accustomed too as well...Jol." Her cheeks tinged with the strangest hint of a flush before she turned her gaze away and began to walk towards her family home. It was a decently sized building, two stories being a rare sight in the outer areas of Matori, and had plenty of space such as this stable and a garden in the back. From the gardens she could already hear the faintest melodies of minstrels as they began to practice with their instruments, warming up for the long night ahead, and the air was scented with the aroma of delicious foods. My aren't they really showing off tonight? Not that it was just her family as well...a thought that made her purse her lips in frustration. Ah, speaking of all that would be here...she really hadn't explained much had she?

"Just so you know a quick run down on the situation." Nadiya stated as she suddenly halted and peered back towards Jolanta, "My family and other trading families of the area meet for an event once a year if not twice. They speak of trades but also enjoy the time to relax and allow families to get to know each other better, children play with each other and the older children can be introduced more formally as needed." She paused before waving a hand in the air, "But those are just formalities, basically for your cover you need to blend in right? You should pose like you're a trader from Yael or something like that. Would be strange to just be by my side without a reason, right?" She smiled lightly, "Wouldn't want people to assume that there's some threat to make a body guard so necessary tonight."

Feeling a bit more relieved as pieces came into place in her mind the Matori paused once more to check out the path before reaching back to wrap her fingers around Jolanta's wrist, "But it would be awkward for me to explain why a trader from Yael had to come to my house with me like this so let's hurry before anyone comes around. This way!" Smiling playfully she tightened her grip before dashing forward and leading the way around some hedges and to a side door which she quickly opened and tugged Jolanta through with her. Up a slender flight of steps and then through a hallway to the door on the right...her room.

Draperies blew in the wind from the slightly opened windows that overlooked the ocean and her canopy bed was a mess, a testimony to her hurry to run out this morning, while a dividing screen stood in place and a dresser covered in clutter and knick knacks from her travels also greeted them, "And this is my room, please don't mind the mess." As she slowed down Nadiya realized that her fingers were still wrapped around his hand and blinking she glanced at their hands before slowly pulling her own away, "Ah, so um...here." Quickly the Matori woman tossed him a package, "There's a vest, shirt, and pants in there you can wear that tonight and I'll uh...go change behind that screen. Don't look okay?" And with that she had darted to sanctuary, a place where she could close her eyes for a moment and calm her racing heart. Gods this was nerve-wracking...and fun. A soft laugh escaped her lips before she began to shimmy from her outfit and into the new one.