Welcome to Gaia! ::

"What if I want to snoop in it?" Xariy teased, even as she handed it back to him. Now that they were in the house she had to behave ever so slightly, at least until it got to be the children's bed time. Unchaste gestures towards Kauff would not do for now. She did reach over and give him a pat on his lower back, hoping to be reassuring in her gesture. Every moment he was here she worried he would turn around and run for the sands instead of linger. She didn't really think he would, but the thought was ever present. It was also why she'd been afraid to ask how long he would be around for.

Liyn decided after his rush by them that he would take this moment to peek back out at them. Still not having hit a growth spurt, he was painfully shorter than Kauff as he stared up at him. "Hey you. Who are you? Miss doesn't bring people around here. You here to work on something?"

Xariy supposed they were friends. Though friends didn't feel quite so accurate. She didn't think friends imagined each other undressed as often as she did with Kauff. But maybe friends did. What did she know? She didn't exactly have anyone to compare to other than Kauff. Still it felt weird calling him that, and Liyn seemed to pick up on the weirdness of the comment as well. With what could only be the most awkward of teenage bravado, Liyn puffed up and stood in front of Xariy.

"Miss is kind to us, and if no one marries her by the time I get older I'm going to. So you better watch out if you have eyes for her," the boy said, causing Xariy to stifle a laugh. "If you want her you'll have to say so!"

"Liyn be nice to our guest. He's very special and will be helping to fix the damage you did, remember?" Both Xariy and Liyn looked back apologetically at Kauff for very different reasons, but the boy nodded.

Liyn stared at Kauff a moment longer before giving a very serious nod in return. "He can stay, Miss. I approve it." The boy then wandered off to do who knew what. There was never a dull moment with him around, though sometimes that chaos made her go to the market for more boards. Perhaps she should've been thanking him considering she wouldn't have seen Kauff if not for the busted wall. After Xariy knew the boy was safely gone, she let out a short laugh and looked over apologetically at Kauff.

"Sorry about all that. Liyn is very vocal about his thoughts. Not necessarily a bad thing, but you get instances like that."

There were so many things to show Kauff she didn't know were to begin. Xariy knew for certain the other kids would want to meet him, especially Nelina. Then there was dinner and catching up, but she felt there were not enough hours in the day to catch up on everything she wanted to ask. She rubbed a hand through her hair briefly as she considered what option to take.

"Well, there's food. If you're hungry now. Or I can show you to a room. Depending on where you'd like to sleep." She left that option open ended, not wanting to pressure him into anything. She'd rather he voice what she was thinking. "And meeting the other kiddos. But I guess....how long are you here for?" Xariy asked quietly, fingers tugging nervously at her sleeve as she looked away. There. She'd asked. If he said just the night that was fine. It was. Kauff was a grown adult and had things going on that didn't involve her. She knew that.

"I-if you give me a little bit of time I can send you off with food and some things. Just so you don't have to work as hard for it. If you've had to work hard." Xariy was rambling and felt her smooth composure cracking. She didn't like it. She wanted him to think she was cool and composed. Exciting, not needy.

"Ah." She had translated that as not long. But she wasn't going to ruin the time they had. Not yet. She made a cursory glance around before grabbing hold of him, tugging him toward a room. The house was quiet despite the other inhabitants, but luckily her room was sequestered off from the rest of the house. She pulled him in quickly, shutting the door behind her as she motioned toward the plain bedroom.

"Tadaaaa. Welcome to my room. You can have a seat on the bed or the chair near my desk. Whichever you would like. Just uh anything if you want. How have you been? How have things been?" She plopped down on the bed, looking up at him.

Xariy equally agreed with the sentiment, ignoring her scattered thoughts and nervous feelings and instead focusing on what she knew. She could do this. This was easy for her mind to settle on. Focusing on the feel of his lips on hers was a lot easier than trying to come up with explanations for what they'd been doing or who they'd been seeing. If her brain could just focus on how comfortable he was pressed against her she could manage. Her hands found their way into his hair, ignoring the soft protest of the bed as it creaked under them. She'd laugh at the silliness of it if she wasn't so distracted.

"Kauff," she muttered, finally pulling herself away from him to look him over. She felt the flush on her face from the intensity of things and had to take a quick breath before continuing to speak. "I don't...." How did she begin to even form her words? "This. I like this. I like you. Just uh....putting that out there. Special friend and all." She laughed to herself.

She didn't give herself much time to take what she said back as her lips found his again, trying to stamp down the giddiness bubbling up in her.

Xariy lay beside Kauff after the fact, laughing to herself while trailing idle patterns along his chest. There was no daring escape for once. No stealing of clothing or exchange of souvenirs. While she'd loved seeing her old dagger strapped to him, there was no need to do anything this time. For once it was just the two of them and she didn't feel like making a run for it. Not that she really could even if she wanted to. He was in her house after all. There were still so many things she wanted to say to the man she'd watched grow over time. How proud she was of him. How often she thought about him. Even just how much she wanted him to stay. Anything would do, yet her tongue got hung up on the words yet again. He was a free traveling spirit like herself, only she'd decided to help the kids. No more traveling for her, and she couldn't force him into the same. Despite how much she wanted to ask him to stay with her, she wouldn't. He had a life outside of her. So instead she chose to focus on the small moments with him. The joy every time she saw him.

"You're the only one." She said it like she was confessing something major. "I don't do....whatever this is....with anyone else. Just you," Xariy reiterated the point with a press of her lips to the hollow of his throat.

"Yeah...yeah," Xariy muttered an agreement, pressing her forehead against his chest. She was trying to reconcile her own feelings and unsure how to respond to it all. It was all scary and exhilarating in the best ways. She wanted to be content with whatever it was they had now, but the more they found themselves together the less she was. She wanted more, but commitment was something neither of them knew. She'd only just recently managed to settle a bit, but Kauff was still a wanderer. It was all he really knew from what she could tell. "Kauff..." She started off softly again, refusing to look at his face as she attempted to form her thoughts. If she looked at him she knew she would let her cowardice get the better of her and not say what she wanted.

"How long?" She forced herself to say, voice shaky as the question escaped. She knew he'd said he wasn't sure, but she wanted something. Any sort of time frame. "A few days? A week? How long do I get to keep you here with me this time?"