Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Your wife?" something about that single word made her feel a horrible, hollowing sensation in her chest. For a long moment, she stared up at him, and then, almost as if unsure of herself, or perhaps upset (for reasons she couldn't even begin to understand, to boot), she squirmed restlessly again, "That means you're married then?" she could not understand why she was put off by such a thing; of course he would be married. Most Ursari of their age were either married or arranged to be married, so why should it surprise her? Or upset her, for that matter? She had absolutely no right; it was perfectly normal for him to be taken.

Of course, then again, this whole scenario opened a new can of worms for Ùna to look into, and this time... she was actually willing to try to dissect it. Mostly out of guilt for her feelings, "I didn't know you had a wife. Is she angry that you come to see me? I'm not a lover," and again, that twisting sensation of something at the base of her stomach, forcing her to take a deep breath in to settle it. Idly, and despite the fact she wasn't married yet, she found herself distantly wondering if Loman was angry with her rushing off to see another too? Then again, the idea of lovers was not unheard of; in fact, it was quite common.

... but why should she care, one way or another? Was that jealousy? Or was that feeling something else?

Taking into account Ùna had no clue what had her upset (or rather, despite having an inkling of a notion, she wasn't entirely prepared to go into the deeper end of the pool to admit to it), she was getting slightly confused over her own feelings, "She won't be mad then?" of course she wouldn't. Why would she? The fact she was upset over the whole ordeal was enough to make the guilt come back in a rush.

Not that we're lovers.

Ùna took a moment to try and figure out why THAT particular phrase sent a pang through her. However, failing, she scratched the back of her head in confusion; maybe she had eaten something bad this morning and was suffering the effects of it now? Either that, or the events of the whole day were still catching up with her and she needed to rest. She wasn't sure which, but it had to be one of those alternatives, "You're right. Why would she be mad?" it was said mostly as if to try and convince herself, nodding once along to her own words.

Her gaze went back to him as she stood up, brushing at her garments with her hands, "There were a few... complications. I'm arranged to marry Loman though," she smiled at the Ba'al, noting that now that she'd stood up, her faces were directly in front of each other, "Others don't understand him... he's sort of like that bell too," she pointed at the bell she'd given Daeven, then idly paused to wonder why it was she'd given it to him, rather than to the blunt Djardi, "I think I need to rest for a while. And sleep. Because my stomach is not happy with me right now. I think the day caught up with me."

As she turned around to leave, she paused and looked back at him. She then decided that... well, they'd make a pretty funny sight as lovers, which such different looks. Then, as she blushed and looked down, she had to wonder where THAT thought had come from. Regardless, she offered him a smile as she walked away. For some reason, she felt she needed to get away from that feeling that was eatting away at her stomach, spine and mind.

"Oh my," a bright voice replied. "Are you who I think you are?"

A dark-skinned Ursari approached the tiny guest, brushing her long brown curls back behind pointed ears. She was tall and lean, though still no where near as tall as Daevan - maybe reaching his shoulder. A thin sheen of sweat glistened, as Leife had just finished her morning training. Violet eyes stared at Una in open curiosity, before the woman beamed and reached out to cup Una's cheeks.

"You are so CUTE!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe that silly male forgot to mention such an important thing. Oh dear, the two of you side by side... Fate has a strange sense of humour, no?"

Leife was almost as talkative as Una, though in the wild sense of a hurricane ready to blow you over and carry you off in her chosen direction. She also talked with her hands, gesturing madly without noticing. There was a good reason she had learned to put away any weapons before joining a conversation.

"Una, right? Unless I'm harrassing some random Djardi healer here on business and keeping her from a patient?" Leife laughed uproariously, as though the life or death of a Family member was a jest. After enjoying her 'joke', she said, "I'm Leife. So I finally get to meet the infamous girl who can ensnare my oblivious husband! What say we go find the giant lummox and beat him up for forgetting to tell me how adorable you are?"

With that, Leife was off, striding across the central mingling area of the Ba'al camp. The Ba'al had obviously heard something about the Djardi that Daevan was spending his time with, as there were some curious stares. Being Ba'al, some of them were quite brazen, not bothering to hide their stares or keep their voices down.

Leife snorted at Una's protestation of her plan to hit her husband. "Nonsense, how do you plan to keep such a lummox in line if you're afraid to beat some sense into him? Besides, he's a Ba'al - we respond quite well to violence!" Another loud laugh from the woman as she continued blazing a trail across camp.

As she walked, she kept a close eye on the tiny, dark healer. Fate had a strong sense of humour, indeed. Such a timid little thing, all this talk of apologising and worrying about disturbing the Ba'al. "Don't worry, it would take a lot more to disturb this camp. A few giant fireballs, maybe. But you? You're a breath of tiny, fresh air."

A loud crack from the right caused Leife to pause. Faint cheering and hooting followed. Storm clouds appeared on Leife's face, and she began walking - a bit slower this time - over to the source of the sound. "They'd better not be..." she muttered.

Rounding a corner, they arrived at a small clearing between caravans. A few onlookers were perched on the stairs of the homes, watching the action in the middle, occasionally shouting out encouragement or insults. Two figures stood in the centre, on opposite sides of the clearing. Even with his back to Leife and Una, Daevan was still recognisable. At an unknown signal, both males dropped their heads - large pairs of antlers jutting forward - and charged. Horns collided with a resounding crack, locking up, and the pair struggled while in hornlock to push the other male back.

Leife, however, had had enough. "What in all the worlds do you think you are doing?" she shouted. With no signs of fear, she stomped up the males who had broken apart in surprise, and punched the both of them. "You stupid males. What do you think would happen if you damaged your horns? How are you going to Planeswalk without them? Less use than a Uni, you would be! I've half a mind to tell the Elders you're still carrying on like this after they forbade it."

Both males winced, and the onlookers began dispersing. While Leife in a rage was also great entertainment, the fear of being caught out took precedence.

Shuffling his hooves in the dirt, Daevan took further punches on his shoulder without so much as a wince. "It's just in fun, Leife," he complained. "And why are you so angry? Usually, you're placing bet-"

"And to be doing such forbidden things in front of guests!" Leife hastily cut off her husband with a significant look, then pushed Una forward.

"Una!" Daevan's confusion at Leife's turnabout was forgotten, his face brightening. As his eyes came to land on the Djardi healer, his horns began to glow softly. A fact that wasn't missed by Leife, looking for this exact reaction.

"Ha! I was right," she crowed, punching a fist in the air. "Never doubt the amazing Leife."

The few remaining Ba'al, dawdling in hopes of a scene, looked curiously back.

Eyes darting wildly around, Leife grabbed a hold of Daevan's arm in one hand and Una's with the other. "Quick, let's take this somewhere more private before even more rumours get started."

She took off between the caravans, dragging the pair of soul mates after her. Hopefully no one else had been looking at horns, or noticed the glow. After a few more twists and turns between the narrow gaps, she opened the door on one caravan and ushered the others in.

"Home sweet home," she smiled. Several large cushions were strewn about on the floor of the main room. Leife pulled one up and sat on the floor, Daevan following suit. "So," Leife clapped her hands and stared from Daevan to Una and back again, "why don't you tell me what you know about soul mates?"

Daevan was still as clueless as last night, so he directed a blank look in his wife's direction. To people who didn't know him, it would appear he had no interest and was trying to intimidate his wife into changing the subject.

With a sigh, Leife turned in Una's direction with a hopeful smile. Maybe the Djardi would have more of an idea. She really hoped she didn't have two clueless soul mates on her hands.

Leife's face fell. "You two are a right pair, aren't you?" she grumbled. She shifted in her seat before perking up once again. "Alright, then, just listen to Master Leife explain it all!"

Daevan sighed and shook his head lightly. "Don't call yourself a Master. But fine, what are soul mates?"

With a pout for her husband's admonition, Leife turned to Una, showering the Djardi with her full attention and pretending to ignore Daevan. "Exactly right, soul mates are very rare! Most people will never find their soul mate - their perfect mate, the other half of their soul, the one who completes them. It's all very romantic," she sighed. "Actually, one of the reasons behind the custom of taking lovers outside of marriage is to let people search for their soul mates. But of course, not many remember that or learned about it, so now it's just..." Leife waved a hand, "there."

"You know a lot about this," Daevan remarked.

"Heh heh heh," the smug chuckle from Leife filled the air of the caravan. "I've had Thetana lovers before. Chatty ones."

While his wife preened over her knowledge, Daevan considered the idea of each Ursari only having a half a soul and searching for the other. "But how would you know if you found your soul mate?"

"That's the best part!" Leife clapped her hands together. "Apart from feeling an instant connection and being drawn to one another, there's also a fail-safe way of knowing it's not just lust." She paused dramatically, a wildly gleeful grin splitting her face. "When they're together, their horns glow!"

She pointed back and forth between the gently lit horns of Daevan and Una. "See?"

Shocked, Daevan glanced up at Una's horns. Yes, they had an inner glow to them. But as they'd been doing that every time he saw her, he'd had no idea that wasn't their usual appearance. Leife, he realised, was probably the first person to see both of them separately, and then together, in order to notice the change.

"No," he answered before Leife could. "My horns do not normally glow. I had thought yours did, though."

Huffing a sigh, Leife jumped up and disappeared behind a screen and several pieces of material strung up from the roof and walls. She returned bearing a burnished silver hand-mirror, which she tossed to Daevan.

Raising the mirror, he studied his reflection. A frown deepened. His horns had a definite gleam to them, especially indoors like this where direct sunlight couldn't be the cause. "How strange," he said, before passing the mirror to Una.

Leife's eyes widened at Una's question. "Well, of course you're soul mates! Unless you've both been buying strange charms off the Luminsta to make certain body parts glow?"

Daevan's quiet snort was answer enough to that question. He turned to regard Una with new eyes. So this was the cause of the need to see her, and the strange feeling in his stomach when she was nearby? He hoped the stomach feelings, at least, wore off in time. Otherwise, there was little point to having a soul mate if they made you feel sick all the time.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure what happens after you find your soul mate," Leife hedged. "It hasn't happened in a while. I guess the Elders are informed and they make some decisions? I remember being told that sometimes soul mates have to leave the Caravan if there are already a pair of soul mates present. I guess too many are a bad omen? But don't worry," she tacked on, realising how bad that sounded, "I haven't heard of any soul mates in this Caravan already. Or otherwise we'd all know about them, right?"

Daevan nodded slowly. He certainly hadn't seen anyone else with glowing horns around, and there were no rumours about soul mates. If he and Leife were any indication, not that many people knew about them, they simply kept searching for new lovers out of the subconscious knowledge that someone else for them was still out there. And he was glad for the lack of knowledge, if it meant he didn't have to leave the Caravan. It had taken him long enough to find a home he felt comfortable in and a Family that loved him. That idea that Una was now as close to him as his Family... wasn't upsetting. It was simply a growing family of his own.

He wasn't sure if he would have chosen a Djardi healer as a soul mate if he'd been given the choice (hells, even all his lovers had been Ba'al), but it sounded like the point of soul mates was that choice had nothing to do with it. Perhaps it wasn't coincidence that the other half of his soul was his total opposite.

"I also want to know how this works with marriage," he spoke up after a long period of thought. "Is it like a permanent lover? Or am I expected to leave you?" he asked Leife, brows drawing together. Though he hid it beneath his tough exterior, Daevan was worried about how this affected marriage. Was it... dissolved... somehow, like he knew other cultures from other worlds did? If it was, what did that mean for him? Would he still be Ba'al, or without the marriage trade, was he expected to return back to the Veduni? His face grew stonier at the thought.

"Not that bad," Leife was hasty to reassure the couple. "Uh, usually. You see, one pair of soul mates appearing is an omen of change. Not too bad, right?" She winked. "But, say, two or three pairs appearing... That's a lot of change. And, historically, not a good lot of change. So if additional soul mates appear in a caravan, they're sent off. To another or to start their own, I don't recall. But hopefully it won't come to that."

Daevan glanced down at the hand Una placed on his arm. He gave her a brief smile, glad for her presence and the comfort it brought him. In fact, here in his home with his wife and his soul mate, he thought he was the safest he'd ever been. Too bad that the knowledge that Una was a soul mate could, effectively, change all of this. It was enough to make him wish for the earlier days - only a week or so ago? - when he and Una had first met. Before they were saddled with this knowledge, responsibility, and so many more questions. It had been easy to just be by Una's side without worrying what any of it meant.

"I don't think it stay a secret for long," Daevan said. "Not since we keep spending so much time together." People would eventually notice the glowing horns. Even if they didn't know what it meant, as Leife did, rumours would spread and eventually reach the ears of someone who did know.