Welcome to Gaia! ::

Achashverosh was nervous. The last several weeks had been a flurry of activity ever since Jhana had agreed to a future together with him and now the house was nearly completed with only a few final touches needed. Verosh had enjoyed the time bonding with the others and with the help of his family and Jhana’s own the pair had quickly established their new home near the forge. While the others helped with the construction of their home, Verosh and Jhana had visited Aisha to complete their bond and whisper their prayers for future blooms. It was a nice feeling to know that he had someone that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, but it was also intimidating to imagine that he could be responsible for little blooms one day. Verosh shook his head to chase away the doubts before focusing on fixing a few more flowers into place around the outside of the home. It was late afternoon and he had wanted to surprise Jhana with flowers and a beautiful scene when she returned to the home. They just mostly needed decorations now and so the man had thought to take the time to set up a special scene behind their home for his dear companion. There was a woven blanket, the same one from their celestial encounter, that was on the ground beneath arches of flowers that he had spent the afternoon shaping along with colored glass orbs that flickered with gentle candlelight. Scattered petals twisted along the backyard towards the blanket where Verosh had even prepared a picnic for tonight’s meal. He was hoping that the sun would linger and that by the time their meal was finished the lighting would be perfect with the candles and everything for when he presented Jhana with jewelry, crystal earrings with delicate vines curling around them. There was a matching pair and Verosh just hoped the idea wasn’t completely silly to Jhana, the anxiousness making him flush as he quickly tucked the carved wooden box beneath an edge of the blanket to reveal later.

Now to just wait for Jhana to come home so that he could show her the surprise dinner set up behind their home. Verosh found himself pacing towards the front of the building until someone caught his attention. “Verosh! You….you’ll have to come visit Aisha tomorrow!” The warrior tilted his head in confusion as one of his cousins approached the clearing. “Blooms! You have blooms!”

The air seemingly left his lungs as Verosh found himself sinking to the ground. So soon? Aisha had blessed them so soon?! It seemed like tonight was definitely going to be a special occasion more than he had originally expected! As his cousin congratulated him Verosh found himself nodding, a smile lingering on his lips as he was left alone once more to wait for Jhana’s return.

[Verosh 1]

Verosh blinked, his mind still swirling with the recent news. "I'm glad you think so." He finally managed before moving to greet Jhana with a light kiss to her cheek. He wasn't certain how to reveal the news and so his focus went towards whatever else he could find. "I hope everything is going well. Do you need help with anything? I thought maybe we could enjoy a late afternoon picnic once everything was settled for the day."

His gaze went towards the pitchers and a smile crossed his lips. "I see you found things for the house." The house...their home. The realization made his heart flutter, especially now that he knew it would be more than just the two of them soon enough.

[Verosh 2]

"I thought it might be nice to just enjoy the evening now that things are quiet." Offered Verosh almost sheepishly before studying the little set of pottery, reaching out to touch them carefully. "They're lovely." He mused with a warm smile towards Jhana. Just like everything else was so lovely lately, the very thought making his cheeks nearly darken. Verosh was still adjusting to being openly affectionate though thankfully being near Jhana made it easier since his heart was full of love whenever he saw her, especially today. "I think everything is coming together well. We may just need a few additional things soon but we're almost there." The warrior chewed the inside of his cheek thoughtfully before leaving his subtle hint alone. He shouldn't just jump into the news, right? Or should he? Dear Aisha, how did anyone handle this? Why hadn't his cousin arrived with the news now instead of earlier? The hybrid nearly frowned at the thought before turning his attention towards the picnic.

"It's nothing too fancy, but if you're hungry we can go ahead and sit?" Verosh offered, gesturing towards their little dinner setup. Some of his older cousins perhaps would have made fun of the usual grump for going to such lengths for his love, but others had helped him with ideas to be more romantic. Either way Verosh didn't care what others thought as long as Jhana was happy.

[Verosh 3]

Verosh had started moving about to unpack the picnic basket, his attention focused on the food as he placed the dishes in front of Jhana. He had pulled out a woven basket that had steamed fish inside, the river fish spiced and surrounded by sliced vegetables that had also been steamed, and was in the process of taking out some additional sides when Jhana's question made him freeze. "Yes." He finally replied with a nod. "We have plenty but there are a few additional things that just came to my attention." Verosh managed as he finished unpacking the basket and finally sat down next to Jhana.

"Starving? Feel free to help yourself to whatever you'd like." Verosh smiled encouragingly before reaching out to take a wooden bowl for himself. It was still strange to think that sharing a meal with Jhana like this was normal now. The very thought made him chuckle. It seemed that their lives would only be like this for a short while before things changed once more. The very thought made him both nervous and excited, his gaze slipping away from the fruit that he had taken for himself as he studied Jhana thoughtfully.

[Verosh 4]

"Help? Possibly." Verosh placed down his food and took a deep breath as he thought about Jhana's words. "I'm not embarrassed. I was just processing something and I wasn't exactly certain if there was a certain way I was supposed to share the news." He admitted finally, his voice soft as he admitted his earlier hesitation. What was he even afraid of? This was exciting news that they both would be happy about! Did it matter how others shared this type of news? At the thought, the warrior straightened his shoulders and looked at Jhana. "I'm willing to share everything with you, Jhana. I'm always comfortable being around you, but I suppose I got caught up in my own thoughts." Verosh nodded even though his cheeks were slightly flushed as he studied his partner. "I'm trying to be more open, but it's an adjustment from how I used to just focus on myself and training. I wasn't much of the sociable type." The man shook his head and looked towards the sky thoughtfully, a small sigh leaving his lips. He knew he could be frustrating because of how abrasive his personality could be and it was hard sharing emotions, even this news had his heart racing with excitement and yet he had been just darting about it because of his own inexperience to these types of situations.

"Alright." Verosh glanced back towards Jhana almost sheepishly. "I had something I wanted to give you, but I received news right before you arrived. Would you like the news first?" His gaze was inquisitive but bright, the words almost wanting to burst free now that he had decided to just address everything.

[Verosh 5]

Verosh definitely felt foolish for struggling like this, but he didn't want to worry Jhana any longer. "It's good news, I promise." He managed before moving so that he could place a hand on Jhana's arm as if to comfort her or perhaps even himself. "I just was in shock that Aisha answered our prayers so quickly." He smiled reassuringly towards Jhana. "We have blooms, Jhana." They were going to be parents. Even as he said it the warrior was still processing the fact. He was delighted and hoped that Jhana would be just as happy despite his earlier hesitations about sharing the news. "My cousin came from Chibale and shared the news with me right before you arrived. I should have said something right away but I didn't know if I should have prepared something special before sharing the news. I was just overjoyed and felt like it was such an important thing that I didn't want to mess up the reveal." His brilliant blue gaze studied his partner, his head tilting slightly with curiosity as he waited for her reaction. He could be a bit foolish at times, couldn't he?

[Verosh 6]

A rare laugh escaped Verosh's lips at Jhana's reaction. The warrior held onto Jhana as she showered him with kisses, sneaking in a couple where he could in his own excitement. "We are, we are!" He agreed with a grin. "We can go tomorrow to see them." Verosh promised. He had been happy to receive the news, but seeing Jhana's reaction made his heart swell up with so much love. They were going to have a family and he would do his best to protect them all. Would they have daughters or....sons? The realization made him blink before Jhana's exclamation made him brush it aside. He would love their children no matter what.

"Exactly. That's the additional things." Verosh chuckled as he brushed back some of Jhana's hair from her face. "We can set up the spare room and work on some additional space...we'll need to think about names as well." He couldn't stop smiling at the realization. They were going to be parents!

[Verosh 7]

Verosh nodded his agreement to everything. "Maybe two?" He had always been an only child so it would be nice if they could have at least two children, a sibling like Verosh wish he had. "I'm eager to see how much they resemble their mother." He added with a small smile. Verosh most definitely would be in trouble if they had children that resembled Jhana more than him, simply because it would make him even more susceptible to spoiling them.

Nodding again, Verosh returned the kiss before squeezing Jhana's hand in excitement. "I'm glad! We can go to the markets and see if there's anything that we would like for the nursery after we visit our blooms?" He offered before realizing that he had almost forgotten something else. "Oh!" A flush covered Verosh's cheeks before he leaned over and nudged the wooden box from beneath the blanket. "My surprise was originally supposed to be this, but then we received an even better surprise from Aisha." He seemed almost sheepish as he held the present out towards Jhana. "I commissioned matching jewelry....I know it may be more of an earthling tradition to share rings and since you work in the forge I thought that perhaps earrings would be better?"

[Verosh 8]